The EPA blog, Greenversations, just made a post on energy vampires detailing how 11 percent of energy use is from devices that draw energy despite being turned off. They define energy vampires as anything electronic that uses electricity when not in use. Although not mentioned in the article many commercial and public buildings have the same energy vampires as homes if not more. One particularly blood thirsty energy vampire outside the home could be your emergency exit signs. Old exit signs use anywhere from 15 to 20 watts each while some newer signs may use 5 watts or less of energy. Count the exit signs in your building and you will quickly realize that even 5 watts per sign adds up very quickly. You can cut the life line feeding these energy vampires by moving to exit signs that use no electricity at all and last anywhere from 10 to 25 years. For example tritium exit signs and photoluminescent exit signs both require no batteries, wiring or electrical power yet still meet the code requirements in place. Reducing energy costs for your building is a great way to save money that can be used on other repairs or go green initiatives. Figure out how much you could save with the EPA calculator.

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