Even though Halloween has passed, you may be surprised to find a slew of phantom vampires lurking in your house.

No need to be scared, although the statistics are frightening. The average American has 40 or more ‘phantom’ energy vampires skulking in dark corners and recessed spaces of their home – in the form of coffee makers, cell phone chargers, cable transmitter boxes, and computers, just to name a few – sucking up dollars, as well as proving to be a big menace to the environment.

Although they look fairly harmless, these appliances’ and electronic devices’ phantom energy use or “standby” modes, account for about 40 to 90 percent of the electricity used to power them. Depending on the device – such as a tool charger or Playstation that’s plugged in all the time but only “on” for a small amount of time – it could consume more energy in its “off” state than when in use.

This alarming and unwarranted use of energy comprises about 5 percent of the average U.S. household’s total energy bill, adding up to $100 a year in electricity, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

While this may not seem like a lot, think about the large-scale environmental impact. The combined impact of phantom energy use in U.S. homes accounts for more than 65 billion kilowatt hours, wastes more than $5.8 billion, and releases billions of pounds of heat-trapping carbon monoxide into the atmosphere.

Also, this percentage could rise to 20 percent by 2010, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Energy efficiency experts find this phenomenon terrifying as energy prices rise and the planet warms.

So what can you do to slay those unwanted pests and help your environment at the same time? While unplugging everything when not in use is the best answer energy-wise, it’s not a very practical one.

First, walk through your house and spot your home’s parasitic energy culprits. Any appliances or electronic devices that use an LCD display (such as the clock on microwaves and coffee makers), and device chargers, including your toothbrush, home phone, and iPod docking stations, as well as anything you typically have in standby mode are guilty.

Then decide which ones can easily be negotiated without losing programmed information (such as your digital clocks). Computers, printers, and scanners for example, can all be plugged into a power strip (also adding surge protection!), which then can easily be turned off with the flip of a switch. Stand-alone devices such as cell phone chargers can be plugged into outlets controlled by light switches, purchased at your local hardware store. You can even buy a socket that automatically switches a device off when it has gone into standby mode.

In addition to these accommodations for your current appliances and devices, another option is to look into purchasing appliances that consume less energy, labeled by the government-backed Energy Star program, coordinated jointly by the U.S. Department of Energy and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. According to the EPA, if one in 10 American homes used only appliances endorsed through the program, it would reduce U.S. carbon emissions by the same amount as planting 1.7 million acres of trees.

This growing problem is something even lawmakers are addressing. In California, a proposal was passed last year – dubbed the Vampire Slayers Act – to add vampire electronics labels to consumer products, detailing how much energy a charger, computer, or DVD player, for instance, uses when on, off or in standby mode.

Technology today can make our lives so convenient. However, that convenience can unknowingly come at a high price, impacting our energy consumption, thus our wallets and the earth. So be aware, stay informed and save money while saving our planet!

For more information, visit http://www.electronichouse.com/ and enter “7 Ways to Slay Your Power Vampires.”