The Natural Resources Defense Council says the US wastes $19 billion dollars a year on electricity from devices plugged in when we’re not using them.
Inside Energy’s Dan Boyce tells us that averages to $165 dollars per household per year.
The study released last week came to its conclusions largely through studying the smart meter data of more than 70-thousand California homes.
More than 50-percent of this waste comes from electronics, smart phone chargers, video game consoles, and TVs.
The study found some TV sets alone can cost more than $50 bucks a year to run.
Many of us don’t think about our wasted energy because electricity in the US is still really cheap--largely do to abundant fossil fuels.
But the NRDC hopes these numbers will push consumers to greater energy efficiency as part of a path to a lower carbon future.
