It's not the AC...or the fridge...or even leaving lights on all night. Nope. The biggest energy waster in all of West Michigan is....

The cable box! Or to be more specific, the DVR and cable box. Add into that the home entertainment system with game consoles and home theatre systems, and these electronic devices drain more power out our houses than central air units and kitchen appliances.

The New York Times has a great story here about this: Atop TV Sets, a Power Drain That Runs Nonstop

Since the TV boxes are on almost all the time (come on, who really unplugs the cable box before going to work?) they basically are always "on" even if they are turned "off". The cable company send program information and service updates to the boxes all the time. Since the box needs to be on to get these updates, there's the power usage.

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I would have thought it was the dryer that drains the most...seems like that is what does it at my home...I always seem to be drying.

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