As the cost of living crisis continues to soar to astronomical heights, many households have been looking for ways that they can cut back on their energy usage to save on their bills. And with October's price cap increasing to £2,500 from April's £1,971, it is understandable why cutting back on your energy usage has become important more than ever.
One way to cut back on your energy bills is to turn off the so-called "vampire devices", the electronics that drain power and still use energy when they are on stand-by and turned on at the wall.
Natalia Lachim from Discount Code has revealed which of these energy-draining devices are actually adding onto your energy bills and how much they could save if you were to switch them off completely. Properly turning off these devices could actually see you save thousands of pounds each year on your annual energy bills, reports WalesOnline.
Natalia said: "If you leave an appliance plugged in and switched on, even if you are not actively using the product, it will drain electricity. This is because electricity will be able to run through, thus increasing your energy use and, unfortunately, your energy bills.
To reduce the amount of energy used and the cost of energy prices, simply switching off the mains means the electrical current is unable to flow through."
While it might seem like a convenient move to leave some of these devices plugged in - such as games consoles, TV's and alarm clocks - switching them off could be a good way to save some cash on your energy bills.
Televisions
A 2021 study showed that a massive 98% of UK households admit to leaving their TV on standby at all times, with many wrongly assuming that turning off via the remote switches it off entirely – however this isn’t always the case. Leaving the TV plugged in and switched on uses 1.3kWh. As the average cost of electricity is now £0.34 per unit, just leaving the TV on idle for an hour a day adds up to an enormous £161.33 a year to your bill.
Many homes have more than one TV - meaning that bill will be multiplied.
Games consoles
Games consoles tend to be left switched on and plugged in as much as TVs and are often overlooked. Simply ensuring it is turned off completely can save £5.10 each day, as when a typical games console is left on standby it can use a hefty 15kWh per hour. Make sure you look for low energy settings in your device's control panel or just switch it off at the wall.
Kettle
A kettle or coffee machine isn’t the worst culprit for being an energy drainer, however, it will add an unnecessary amount to your bill. Leaving an average kettle plugged in and switched on when not in use can use around 0.3kWh. Although this is seemingly a small unit of energy, it still adds £37.23 to your annual bill.
Home exercise equipment
Many of us used the pandemic and lockdowns to get fitter and invest in exercise equipment and invested in our own home exercise equipment. In fact, searches for “treadmills” saw a 282.86% increase in searches across 2020 and 2021 and has continued to grow in 2022, with an uplift of 164.3%. Whether or not we’ve kept to our fitness habits is another story, however, if sports equipment is left plugged in then it can be costly . An average exercise bike uses 7kWh when left on standby which will add just over £57 to your annual bill.
Plugged in chargers
For ease, many of us leave our chargers plugged in and ready to charge up our devices as soon as we need them, and it is a wrong assumption that the charger only will cost money if a device is actually plugged in. While leaving an empty charger plugged in might not be the most expensive, as chargers only use 0.006 kWh, it is adding unnecessary costs to your bills, adding around £17.87 to your annual bill.
Alarm clock
Invested in a SAD lamp this winter? Or perhaps you were once let down by your phone’s alarm so prefer to rely on an old-fashioned alarm clock? Whatever the reason, alarm clocks are convenient but will add to your energy bill. If your alarm clock is mains operated and is plugged in all the time, a standard digital alarm clock uses 3kWh, so when left on 24 hours a day, costs around £24.48. Although this may not seem too expensive, to make further savings, you could consider turning off your clock when not in use and simply reset the time and your alarm before going to bed.
Other devices
Other devices that will be draining energy when you aren't using them include microwave ovens, smart speakers, stereo systems, laptops and computers.
Fridge/freezer
As a fridge/freezer needs to constantly be on, it is unsurprising that over 12% of the entire household’s energy comes from the fridge/freezer alone, costing households around £138.72 per year. Obviously, a fridge/freezer cannot simply be turned off when not in use, there are ways to ensure it works as efficiently as possible, meaning you will pay the minimum necessary. Regular cleaning of the fridge, both external and internal cleaning, is the simplest way to ensure it runs efficiently. Dusting the exterior means dust won’t get into the system and affect how it works and cleaning the interior and disposing of any out of date food means the fridge doesn’t need to work as hard to keep food cool/frozen.
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