Your home is full of vampires—energy vampires, that is.

Energy vampires are electric appliances and devices that continue to use energy, even when they’re turned off. They’re all over your home, and they can suck the life out of your energy bill, accounting for up to 20% of your electricity use.

Most Americans now have between 30-65 vampire devices throughout their homes. Nearly every appliance has become smart with electronic digital displays. Some of the biggest energy consumers include cable or satellite set-top TV boxes, computer modems and aquariums.

While you may not be able to easily turn those items off without consequences, you can save energy on vampire electronics such as cellphone chargers, laptop computers, gaming consoles TVs, printers, DVR and MP3 players, automatic coffee makers, microwave ovens and other devices with digital clocks.

Here’s how to slay the energy vampires in your home:

• Unplug rarely-used devices such as your DVD player and the dusty TV in the guest room.
• Use power strips to plug in computers, printers and phone chargers so you can easily turn off one switch.
• Set your computers to go into “sleep” or “standby” mode after nobody has touched them for 30 minutes.
• When you unplug your mobile phone from the charger, unplug the charger from the wall.
• Buy ENERGY STAR appliances whenever possible, as it reduces the amount of energy used in active and idle modes.