Click. That little light changes from green to red, and you've shut off your TV. Right? Wrong. The fact that a light is still turned on is your first clue to the fact that you just entered "Standby" mode.

Would you believe that 10% of the energy you use in your home is just to run things on Standby? The biggest culprits in your home are probably your DVR or cable box. Most draw around 30 watts - day in and day out. Imagine it's pulling more energy in its "off" state than your CFL light bulb that gives what's worth 100 watts of light for only 25 watts.

Do you keep your computer on standby instead of shutting it off when it's not in use? That's another big energy hog. Instead of chugging watts when you don't need to, turn off your computer instead.

Want to keep tackling standby culprits? Printers, stereos, and monitors should be on your list.

Make sure you shut off that printer completely and only turn it on when you need it. In fact, that advice holds true for all of these items. Try to shut off everything that you can - and we mean completely shut off.

Rebecca says: I didn't believe it when I read that a cable/satellite box pulls around 30 watts. When I plugged in my energy meter I was amazed to see the number: 33 watts.

Source: Forbes.com