Vampire energy

Recently I was talking to a friend about vampire energy, which is the electricity used by many devices to maintain a standby condition.  Many of these devices use small amounts of electricity even when sleeping or turned off.  Devices with clocks and internal thermostats to maintain a specific temperature as well as many “smart” electronic products use vampire energy.  My friend was interested in knowing how much power is used worldwide for this vampire energy, so I went looking for a number.  According to the article below, “Studies from the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) have found that more than 100 billion kilowatt-hours are wasted every year because of vampire energy, costing American consumers over $19—about $165 per US household on average—and 50 large (500-megawatt) power plants’ worth of electricity.”  “Cutting vampire energy consumption in half, in the US alone, would be the equivalent of turning off the carbon emissions of a medium-sized country, like Jordan or Lebanon.”  The article points out that “at the industrial level, 21 percent of all electricity consumed by buildings is wasted”.   Most of us are not in charge of industrial facilities, but when at work we can at least turn lights off and unplug our phone chargers before we go home.  Other things to consider:  

• Plug electronic devices into an easily-accessible power strip so that you can turn the power completely off at night or when you are not using the device.  Choose settings that put the device into a low-power sleep mode after a short period of non-use. 
• Unplug devices such as digital clocks in a guest bedroom.  You can plug them back in when guests are expected. 
• Don’t leave chargers plugged in when they’re not actively charging your device.  All those smartphone, laptop, and personal care device chargers use electricity even when not connected to the item they are intended to charge.

https://www.wired.com/story/vampire-energy-climate-environment-earth-day