SAN DIEGO, Oct. 28, 2010 – San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) wants to remind its customers to protect themselves against vampires – energy vampires, that is.  Energy vampires, also known as “standby energy loss,” are electronics, appliances and gadgets that quietly suck power even when they are turned off.  While these glowing standby lights and digital displays consume relatively small amounts on their own, collectively they can account for as much as 10 percent of a customer’s electricity costs. 
 
        Energy vampires are relatively simple to detect and combat.  Common energy vampires include: televisions, video games, coffee makers, electric razors, cell phone chargers, and computers and printers.  They are easiest to detect in the dark; customers should just look for the glowing lights.

        SDG&E offers the following tips to help customers save energy and money:

       • Unplug items that are not in use, especially adapters for battery-powered devices with a full charge or that extra refrigerator or freezer not being used. SDG&E will even pay you $50 to let us haul that extra refrigerator away if you’re not using it.


        • Use power strips.  Plugging electronics into a power strip and turning it off when the items are not in use is the most common recommendation for combating energy vampires.  They now come in all shapes and sizes; some even have remote controls.

        • Use energy efficient appliances.  Appliances with the Energy Star label use less energy when in use and in standby mode.  SDG&E offers a variety of rebates to make purchasing energy efficiency appliances more affordable. 

        To learn more about how customers use energy in their home and ways to save, visit http://www.sdge.com/saveenergy.
 
        SDG&E is a regulated public utility that provides safe and reliable energy service to 3.4 million consumers through 1.4 million electric meters and more than 840,000 natural gas meters in San Diego and southern Orange counties.  The utility’s area spans 4,100 square miles.  SDG&E is committed to creating ways to help our customers save energy and money every day.  SDG&E is a subsidiary of Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE), a Fortune 500 energy services holding company based in San Diego.

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