WASHINGTON — Working toward better energy efficiency isn't simply a daytime job. Sometimes energy can be expended even with the lights off.

The evolving electronic grid, along with our changing electronic culture requires that advocates, consumers and business owners alike be aware of the surprising ways we are now able to waste. These energy vampire products leech your power supply, even at night when they're turned off.

Energy vampires

Speaking to an audience of the energy efficiency elite May 12 at the 2015 EE Global Forum, Ralph Cavanagh, senior attorney and co-director of the energy program at the Natural Resources Defense Council, spoke about how the changing utility grid now includes "energy vampires" that require energy efficiency advocates to evolve with the times.

Nowadays there are a multitude of devices that use energy nonstop, even when they are switched off, Cavanagh noted.

Devices such as cable/satellite boxes, digital TV converters, mobile and cellular devices, as well as DVR, VCR, DVD players are popular culprits. Taken together, on average, energy vampires have been known to use the energy it would take to run three refrigerators, or brew 200 cups of coffee.

This is the quintessential illustration of wasteful energy use, Cavanagh warned.

The official term to describe the phenomenon is "standby power." According to the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, "Most experts agree that 'standby power' is electricity used by appliances and equipment while they are switched off or not performing their primary function. … Standby power use is also caused by circuits that continue to be energized even when the device is 'off.'"

According to Duke Energy Corporation, energy vampires "can account for up to 20 percent of your electric bill."

Consumers aren't alone in their need to be aware of the many different — and growing — ways we as a culture are expending energy. Businesses can also take advantage of the opportunity to save energy.

"There's going to be a nationwide competition to strive toward energy efficiency," Cavanagh said.

Addressing the problem

According to the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory — which conducts unclassified scientific research on behalf of the U.S. Department of Energy and is managed and operated by the University of California — there are ways to reduce standby power usage:

• If you aren't frequently using a device, unplug it. (This works fine for the sixth TV in the guest bedroom or the VCR.) Warning: Don't frequently unplug and plug in appliances because you could get electrocuted from frayed wires and plugs.
• Use a switchable power strip for clusters of computer or video products. That way you can switch everything to zero with one action.
• When shopping, search for low-standby products. (Asking a salesperson will probably be a waste of time.) Energy Star products have lower standby.
• Buy a low-cost watt meter, measure the devices in your home and take targeted action. You will certainly be surprised at what you discover, and this exercise might even pay back the cost of the meter in savings.

According to the report, " An informed and aggressive approach can reduce standby use by about 30 percent." And although these methods won't eliminate energy concerns entirely, they can help stop energy vampires from expending electricity wastefully. This isn't necessarily a stake in the heart, but at least it will help you survive until the sun rises again.