Back in September I wrote about my great cable TV experiment.  I cancelled my cable and now do all of my television viewing through Internet streaming.  Four months later, I still don’t miss cable at all.  I’ve found that I read more.  I listen to music more.  I go to bed earlier at night (and reap the benefits of a decent night’s sleep!).  I don’t just “tune out” in front of the TV anymore.  Yes…I still vegetate on the couch from time to time.  I’ve been binge watching Parks and Recreation and Scrubs for the last couple of months.  But I definitely spend a lot less time staring at the screen.

I’m not surprised.  I expected all of these results from my cable cancellation.  But there is one specific side-effect of cutting the cord that has been a very pleasant surprise for me.  My electric bill has gone down.  Significantly—about $10 per month!  I always knew that my four (yes…FOUR) cable boxes were sucking vampire power while they weren’t really in use.  But I had no idea how much.  It seems cable boxes (especially DVRs) are among the worst vampires around, using more energy than most appliances.  A new agreement is going to make sure future cable boxes are more efficient. But in the meantime, you may want to consider plugging those set top boxes into a power strip that you can flip on and off.  Or just cut the cord altogether, like I did. 😉