Did you know your devices are costing you money, even when they’re turned off?

SOUNDBITE (English) Aidan Charron, Associate Director of Global Earth Day:

“Phantom energy is essentially that wasted electricity from just leaving an item plugged in.”

That’s why some also call it “vampire energy,” because your devices are still sucking power. And this invisible drain is adding up.

SOUNDBITE (English) Aidan Charron, Associate Director of Global Earth Day:

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“CO2 is being pumped up in the air whether or not we're using that electricity or not. So if you're wasting that amount of electricity in the U.S. alone, it's about $22 billion worth of waste altogether. And that's just money. Resources that we aren't getting back.”

For the average family, the hidden waste shows up on their overall yearly utility bill, even if they never realize it’s happening.

SOUNDBITE (English) Aidan Charron, Associate Director of Global Earth Day:

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“It's about $100 to $200. That's the average US household. So about four people living in that household.”

But it’s not just about saving money. What we do at home, whether it’s unplugging or making smarter choices, actually makes up a big piece of America’s climate footprint.

SOUNDBITE (English) Jonathan Gilligan, Professor of Earth & Environmental Science, Civil & Environmental Engineering, and Climate & Environmental Studies at Vanderbilt University:

“The household sector is responsible for somewhere between 35 and 40 percent of direct greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S., and that's bigger than the industrial sector, it's bigger than the commercial sector.”

That means what happens in our kitchens, living rooms and garages can be just as important as what happens in factories or power plants. And studies show that when households make small but consistent changes, the impact is massive.

SOUNDBITE (English) Aidan Charron, Associate Director of Global Earth Day:

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“Unplug your phone charger after your phone is 100% charged. Slowly over time, start doing that more and more in your life. Maybe do kitchen appliances and then start moving into your other aspects of your life, unplugging your TV, unplugging that lamp you're not using, things like that.”

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