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Article: Home energy Q&A.
- Article from:
- Knight Ridder/Tribune
- Article date:
- August 31, 2006
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2006 Knight Ridder/Tribune. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: Ken Sheinkopf
Q: I was in our family room the other day and noticed the clocks on our cable box, DVD player and radio tuner were all on, meaning they must be using electricity even though none of the products were actually turned on. I've heard that many electronic gadgets use electricity all the time. Is this an insignificant amount to worry about or can these products be costing much money every month?
A: The problem of "phantom loads" _ the stand-by electric use of devices not being actively used _ has been growing in size over the past several years as more and more electric items are being used in our homes. As televisions get bigger and ...