What many people may not realise is that even though your appliance is not on it is still using electricity which is known as a “Phantom Load” or “Vampire Energy.”
Vampire energy applies to any electronic device that still uses electricity when turned off but still plugged in, such as televisions, toasters, lamps and mobile phone leads, according to British Gas the average household could save at least £110 a year, “which equates to £2.2bn across all UK households.”
The cost of living is affecting everyone’s pocket and energy experts have warned that gas and electricity prices will rise further, and the price cap could exceed £5,000 in the first half of 2023.
By keeping your appliance plugged in you are wasting more electricity than you need to resulting in higher bills and on average households could be wasting up to 40% of their electricity even though their products are switched off.
The worst offenders for vampire energy are TVs, DVD players, video game consoles and Sky satellite boxes, which can cost you around £73 a year for that one appliance.
Also those who work from home and use extension leads for laptops, printers, lamps or any other appliance that has a digital display are all burning your money, unplug the plug from your socket.
Kitchen appliances such as microwaves, cookers, toasters, lamps or any other item which has a digital display are all needlessly using more electricity than you need to.
The best way to save some more money is to unplug from your sockets when not in use and every night or even you are going out for the day to work for instance.
Energy expert Marc Robson, at British Gas said, “While colder weather means a rise in bills is inevitable, there are some things we can do to reduce our energy usage at home this winter which will really help the bank balance and the environment.
“Almost a third of total heating costs in the home are wasted through the roof and the walls and with vampire appliances, this figure is almost half of our electricity bills on wasted energy.
“Just switching some of these off can really help save straight away and those with a smart meter will be able to see the impact of this in real time.
“Turn it down or turn it off is a great motto for fighting the vampires.”
Leave a Comment