Chargers that don’t waste energy coming soon

I have a painless way for you to save on your electric bill starting today.

A new rule coming next year in California will require electronics manufacturers to make chargers that won’t eat energy when they’re plugged in and you’re not charging the item. That means you can say goodbye to “vampire electronics.”

According to The Los Angeles Times, the California Energy Commission estimates vampire electronics squander as much as 60% of the electricity they pull from outlets. The new measure in the Golden State is expected to reduce residential and commercial electricity bills by $306 million annually.

Best of all, the cost of the new energy-efficient chargers will be nominal for consumers. As The Los Angeles Times notes, “An upgraded battery charger would boost the price of a laptop computer by 50 cents but would save $19 in power costs.”

But here’s the really good news: Because California is such a large market, I’m expecting that ultimately the manufacturers will just default to building the energy savings into all chargers; they won’t bother making one set of chargers for California and another for the rest of the country.

So as goes California, so goes the nation. But my take is, don’t wait for a government mandate; just start unplugging those vampire electronics in your home!

I’m guilty of leaving my cell phone charger plugged in when not in use and throwing money away. Now I pledge to you that I am done with that behavior!