It took the lights going out in her 27,000-square-foot facility for a light bulb to go off in Brenda MacDonald’s head.

“Suddenly, it was a lot cooler than when we had power,” says MacDonald, president and CEO of Coyle & Greer Awards Canada, an Ontario-based manufacturer of recognition awards such as lapel pins, medallions, and corporate jewelry, recalling the power failure in 2005 that forced her employees to work by natural light and without air conditioning. “Ding, ding—a bell went off for me that said, ‘Well, maybe if we keep the lights off, we’ll be cooler.” The energy-saving practice continues today: The overhead lights at Coyle & Greer Awards are rarely turned on in the summertime.

MacDonald is just one of an increasing number of business owners taking control of their energy consumption—and pursuing cost savings—by cutting off unnecessary lights and other power-hungry devices. Better still, the hunt to eliminate vampire power, also known as standby power—the electric power consumed by electronic appliances while they are switched off or in standby mode—is leading to even greater savings. Personal computers, printers, power adapters, cell phone chargers: They are all common business tools that consume power when they’re supposedly “off” in standby or ready mode. In fact, standby power accounts for 10 percent of U.S. residential electricity consumption, at a cost of more than $6 billion annually—a figure the U.S. Department of Energy estimates could rise by 20 percent by 2010 as more and more devices work their way into American homes. And in 2004, vampire power consumed almost 130 million MWh— equal to the output of 36 power plants.

But that’s not all. Generating all that electricity pumps millions of tons of CO2-equivalent emissions into the atmosphere every year, all for the convenience of not having to turn off your desktop computer during lunch breaks. What’s worse, companies wind up spending thousands of dollars a year on wasted energy. Consider this: Not turning off one desktop computer and leaving it in sleep mode can cost an additional $70 per year. Now multiply that figure by 1,000 for each employee working in a medium-sized company and that’s $70,000 in unnecessary expenses.

Fortunately, according to Bob Schildgen, saving the planet—and sparing your bottom line—is a lot easer than you think. Schildgen writes “Hey Mr. Green,” an environmental advice column for Sierra, the national magazine of the San Francisco-based environmental agency, Sierra Club. “Sure, we have to develop alternative sources of energy but the quickest and cheapest method of generating power is not to use so much,” says Schildgen, the self-proclaimed “Ann Landers of Environmentalism.”

The first step, he says, is conducting an energy audit of your company, which should give you a good idea of “the state of your energy consumption.” That’s because a certified energy auditor is qualified to assess how much energy your business consumes and evaluate what measures you can take to make your facility more energy efficient and reduce vampire power. An audit will show you problems that may, when corrected, save you substantial amounts of money over time. And audits may also determine the efficiency of your facility’s heating, cooling, and hot water systems.

Of course, if hiring an energy auditor is financially out of reach, you can perform a simple energy audit yourself. MacDonald, for example, undertook the task of assessing the use of Coyle & Greer’s energy-consuming air compressor, which runs the company’s hot stamping machines. “We found out that we only needed a 3-horsepower air compressor, so we switched and now keep the 10-horsepower compressor as a backup.”

Another discovery: The power-guzzling process of making castings for jewelry, which uses burn-out ovens, could be conducted just once a week rather than three times a week for greater energy efficiency. What’s more, MacDonald opted to switch “to a very small electric oven for our off-season so that it would use much less power.”

Identifying areas for energy improvement is one thing. The next step is creating policies that will guide and modify employees’ energy consumption practices. Encouraging workers to shut off their desktop and laptop computers when not in use, plugging devices such as printers and scanners into a single power bar that can be turned off with a flick of a switch, removing cell phone chargers from the wall—they are all good habits that employees should be encouraged to embrace.

Other vampire power-busting policies include “setting up computers to go into sleep mode when they’re not being used,” recommends Schildgen. “A lot of power is wasted simply by leaving the screen on.” In addition, Schildgen says companies should set thermostats no lower than 78 degrees in the summer and no higher than 68 degrees in the winter.

Still, establishing eco-friendly policies is a lot easier than enforcing them. “Most people really do want to use less energy,” says Schildgen. “They know it’s bad for the environment, they know it costs a lot of money, so a smart thing for a company to do would be to send out a memo on energy use and encourage employees to cut their usage.”

In addition, companies could point employees in the direction of reliable sources of information such as the U.S. government’s Energy Star website, which provides everything from online scorecards for measuring energy use to expert tips and strategies. In 2006 alone, the Energy Star program saved some $14 billion on Americans’ utility bills and helped avoid more than 35,000 megawatts of peak power demand.

Some companies are even taking steps to educate not only their employees but also their customers on the dangers of vampire power. Electronics giant Best Buy Co., for example, recently declared October 30 National Vampire Awareness Day. The nationwide campaign aims to educate Americans about the worst offenders of vampire power—namely, plasma TVs, computers, game consoles, and cell phone chargers.

While it’s true that “educating is a lot better than mandating,” Schildgen says the quickest way of convincing employees to put a stake through vampire power is to “show them how much money the company is saving.” That’s because demonstrating the cost benefits of reducing energy consumption is not only a morale boost for your workforce, but also proof of a company’s commitment to responsible financial and ecological practices. 

After all, asks MacDonald, “Do you really want to give your money to an electrical or gas company, or would you rather have that money for yourself to promote your company and pay your staff more?” MacDonald should know. She says she’s shaved 16 percent off of Coyle & Greer’s electrical bill—money that is now being used “to grow the business with sales and marketing initiatives and promoting our business.” Proof positive that ridding the planet of vampire power can do wonders for your bottom line.

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Battling vampire power

Stop wasting electricity by killing vampire power

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