IBM Seeks to End ‘Vampire Energy,’ Cut Power Usage

International Business Machines Corp. is researching a way to cut electronic devices’ power consumption by 90 percent and reduce so-called vampire energy, or power used while machines and gadgets are turned off.

IBM’s Zurich laboratory is developing a transistor that would regulate energy usage more tightly than the current models, preventing energy from being used when devices are left plugged into an electrical outlet, the Armonk, New York-based company said today in a statement. It’s working on the project with European universities and companies.