Save Power
Many of those electronic devices with power supplies throughout our homes actually are power hogs. We are all interested in what is wasting energy in our homes right now. For example those cable tv boxes and digital video recorders that are left on consume power but are inconvenient to unplug and restart. Some other devices are easier to disconnect such as printers, camera and video camera charges, laptop chargers, LCD TVs, CD players, VHS decks, DVD players, power tool chargers, hand-held vacuums, portable video game devices like PSPs, game boys, Nintendo DS, mobile phone chargers, USB hubs, flatbed scanners, computer speakers, and the list goes on. Have a look around your home to discover the silent power wasters as they can add up 24/7.
This form of energy seepage is called "standby power" which when added together can make up almost 10% of household energy use.
Also leaving things on when not in use causes alot of power waste. Some of the biggest wasters are leaving CRT computer screens on when not in use (65+ watts), leaving desktop computers on when not being used for extended periods of time (75+ watts), laser printer (130+ watts), rear projection television (180+ watts), amplifiers (usually 40-100+ watts), even forgetting to turn of game consoles when not in use (30+ watts), subwoofer (10 watts+). By far the largest power goes to the heating and air conditioning system (furnace 340 watts+) so installing a programmable thermostat that varies temperature based on need such as when home, when going out, when sleeping... can really save money and is well worth installing.
What solution is there to this energy waste?
First identify the culprits in your house and if several of them reside in the same area, put them on a power strip and plug the power strip into the wall. Simply switching the power strip off disconnects these devices from the circuit and they can no longer draw standby power.
It is not a good idea to let items drain their batteries completely, but also not a good idea to keep something such a power tool or hand-held vacuum plugged in when it is already fully charged. Using a power strip with a surge protector will also increase the protection of the plugged in devices.
When plugging devices into power strips, just stay within their electrical ratings to avoid overloading the plug and household circuit, and avoid plugging one power strip into another power strip.
Notice how the . adapters can sit at an angle. This allows for both wall warts and regular plugs to occupy the same power strip. Otherwise the wall-warts can take up half of a regular power strip making them less helpful.