\n<\/p>\n
Eugene Chia, who has a startup helping schools and commercial buildings to track and optimise their energy use, installed energy monitoring devices in his own home to find out how much electricity his individual appliances were using.<\/p>\n
His findings, based on one week of data, showed that \u201cvampire energy\u201d was being wasted, with \u201cmoney thrown away\u201d because there was no benefit from the energy use. Smart televisions are one of the biggest culprits.<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout 5 to 10 per cent of energy is being wasted even when we\u2019ve switched off the TV using the remote,\u201d he said. \u201cThe TV is on standby and still feeding off the energy.\u201d<\/p>\n
That works out at about S$4.70 (US$3.70) <\/span>a month, so he recommends switching off the TV network\u2019s main switches after a household is done watching the TV.<\/p>\n For people whose switches are concealed, one solution is to buy smart plugs. The plugs will identify devices that are in idle and then cut off the energy. \u201cHence it\u2019d be zero consumption,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThese typically cost S$10 to S$40, and the price difference comes from the type of features that are inside the plug, the ratings and the safety credentials.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n