There aren’t many homes that don’t have at least one or two power strips in them, perhaps providing power to the home entertainment array or the home office area.  They’re handy little devices to have but they can help contribute to vampire energy consumption, which occurs when an appliance continues to suck energy from your outlets even after it’s turned off. This inventive concept from Dong Hoon Han, Hwa Yong Shin and Dong Jin Shin might help all of us reduce the electricity bill by driving a stake through the heart of vampire appliances.

The Multitap is a new kind of power strip; it works by sucking all of that wasted energy up into a stylish wall lamp. The lamp’s multiple lights (low-energy LEDs, naturally) are indicators that you’ve left some gadgets plugged in and they’re still consuming energy. By tapping the light that corresponds with each gadget, you effectively cut off the electricity to the outlet that it’s plugged into.

Obviously, the effectiveness of this energy-saving device will depend on your willingness to notice and do something about the devices that are consuming energy. But since the wall lamp is downright attractive, it seems more likely to stay on constantly. As long as you’re using energy, though, you might as well use it to make the whole room look just a little more attractive.