Stopping the power drain with EcoStrip.

• Position: USB EcoStrip 2.0 - WHAT'S NEW? - Brief article

While we've certainly heard of phantom drain--the power that our electrical devices use even when turned off--until faced with the data, it's not something we thought affected us very much. Of course, it makes sense that even though we're not using our coffee pot or DVD player, they must consume electricity to keep the clocks working. In fact, devices that use remote controls, such as televisions, remain in a standby mode when turned off, and actually can use more power in 20 hours of nonuse than in four hours flipped on. it's the same with our computers and peripherals and, according to the International Energy Agency, the U.S. spends almost $11,000,000,000 annually on electricity wasted as a result of standby power.

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Power strips can be an easier alternative than unplugging all of your devices when not in use--turning off the switch on the power strip will accomplish the same thing in one step. For our computer, this is not a reasonable option as...