Killing vampires.

• Position: Letter to the editor

The article by Paul W. McRandle ["Green Guidance," Nov/Dec 2006] had a major omission: he didn't talk at all about "phantom" power--appliances and electronics that consume electricity even when they're "off." Maybe you could follow up on that piece with some statistics and tips on how to avoid phantom power. The only solution I have found (outside of electronic abstinence) is putting all of my TV devices on a power strip and shutting off the power completely. But that creates a nightmare of reprogramming for many devices. Got any better ideas?

MATT POWER

Liberty News TV

Portland, Maine, U.S.A.

Paul McRandle responds: Although most appliance energy use--90 percent in the case of TVs--occurs in the active mode, phantom power is certainly a problem and can cost homeowners up to $200 a year, especially if they have bad habits such as leaving cell phone chargers plugged in.

You can keep track of energy vampires and check how much energy your appliances eat up using a device called a Kill-a-Watt. As for saving the energy, power strips offer a quick shutoff but risk loss of data in...