Everyone seems to leave their tv's and other devices on standby. How much electricity are they actually using? What about your phone and battery chargers? How much electricity is used for each dish washing load or clothes drying?

This neat little gadget called a Kill-A-Watt will tell you exactly. Just plug it in between the wall and your device and watch the power used. This is a very easy way of monitoring your power usage and can actually save you money!

Have a look at the comments from other satisfied users:
http://www.amazon.com/P3-P4400-Electricity-Monitor-KillAWatt/dp/B000JLOKXI

These "phantom loads" as they are reffered to are fairly insignificant however, they will add up.  My advice is put your tv and other phantom loads on a power strip and when its time to turn it off, flip the switch on the power strip,  No more phantom loads.

My husband and I actually used our timer that we normally use for Christmas lights on our power strip that all of these things are plugged into and set the timer so it's off while we're at work and when we're sleeping. I figure it cuts the energy used in half.