Chances are good that you have a stereo. And chances are also good that your stereo has fancy electronic components and a digital display screen. Unfortunately, these high tec... read full tip

Chances are good that you have a stereo. And chances are also good that your stereo has fancy electronic components and a digital display screen. Unfortunately, these high tech add-ons make for stereos that are energy guzzlers even when they're not turned on.

To produce sound from your stereo actually requires a miniscule amount of energy. In fact, the so-called "phantom power" consumed by some stereos when they're in standby mode can be 90 percent of the power consumed when they're turned on.

If you listen to your stereo for 5 hours a day, every day for a year, you'll pay about five bucks in energy costs. If you leave your stereo in stand-by mode for the rest of the time, you could pay three-times more. In other words, if you don't unplug you're paying about $15 a year to not listen to your music.

If every U.S. household with a stereo left it unplugged when not in use, the energy cost savings could total upwards of $1.2 billion. That could buy $20,000 worth of music equipment for every elementary school in the country.

Standby Power Summary Table
Department of Energy
National Center for Education Statistics