i have written previously on the direct financial benefits of minimalism (buy less things = save more money). benefit #24 again relates to the financial benefits of minimalism, but this time the extra expense comes from the things already in your home.
meet standby power: many appliances continue to draw a small amount of power when they are switched off. these “phantom” loads occur in most appliances that use electricity, such as vcrs, televisions, stereos, computers, and kitchen appliances. (the us department of energy)
in britain, standby (or phantom) power accounts for 8% of all british domestic power consumption. a similar study in france found that standby power accounted for 7% of total residential consumption. some estimates put the proportion of consumption due to standby power as high as 13%.
the popular solution to reduce standby power in your home (and save 5-10% on your electrical bill) is to unplug your electric appliances when they are not in use or attach each of them to a powerstrip that can be powered off.
of course, another solution is to just reduce the number of electrical appliances in your home.