Cash-strapped Brits have been warned of ‘vampire appliances’ in their homes that are needlessly draining energy and driving up bills.The experts at Quotezone.co.uk have named the ten household appliances that use the most energy in standby mode.
According to research, 23% of household electricity use is wasted on vampire appliances that consume a lot of energy even when they’re turned off. Topping the list of devices with high annual standby costs are smaller electronics such as smart home devices, consoles and computers which account for around 5% of the electricity bill.
Energy-hungry wet appliances like washing machines, dishwashers and tumble dryers have also made the list. Many households leave their electrics on standby all the time without realising how much it’s costing them in the long run.
Unplugging appliances when they’re not being used can save families around £147 on their annual energy bills. Although it may be tedious to keep switching the appliances on and off every day, it can make a big difference for families who are trying to find savings amid the cost-of-living crisis.
Greg Wilson, Founder at Quotezone.co.uk, said: “The simplest way for families to reduce their energy usage and save money is to eliminate unnecessary electricity use. Leaving appliances on standby means that they’ll still be draining power even when you’re not using them which causes unnecessary costs on your energy bills.
“Something as simple as flicking a switch can prevent the vampire appliances from eating up almost a quarter of your energy consumption.
“It’s an easy win because you don’t even have to make any major changes to your everyday habits to reduce these energy bills – it’s just tricky to work out who the culprits are, so we’ve done some research and compiled a top ten list to help people identify which energy draining appliances to switch ‘off off’ and start saving.”
Here are the ten appliances that use the most standby energy from the team at Quotezone.co.uk:
Games console
Besides the running costs, leaving your gaming console on standby for a whole year will cost you £27.52. Modern gaming consoles are much more powerful than they used to be and consume a lot of energy because they are connected to the internet even when they’re in standby mode.
Desktop computer
A lot of people are working from home nowadays and are using their computers for most of the day which already adds a considerable sum of money to their electricity bills. Leaving the computer on standby will add another £13.39 to their annual bills.
Laptop
The annual standby cost of laptops is £10.41. The good thing with laptops is that you can unplug them as soon as they’ve got enough charge instead of letting them eat up power all day.
Smart speakers
Smart speakers consume 3W per hour on standby. People usually only use smart speakers for a few hours per day but if they’re left plugged in and on standby all year round then it’ll add £7.44 to annual electricity bills.
Dishwasher
Dishwashers use the same amount of standby energy per hour as smart speakers, with an annual cost of £7.44. If you’re doing multiple loads a day then you may not want to leave it on standby but it’s still worth switching it off for the night.
Washing machine
You pay less than 1p for an hour of standby use of your washing machine, yet it’ll cost £6.45 for an entire year. With the same amount of money you can run two 3W LED bulbs for an entire year for 8 hours a day.
Tumble dryer
Tumble dryers are one of the highest energy-consuming appliances, costing you £1.2 per cycle. Just like washing machines, leaving tumble dryers on standby will add another unnecessary £6.45 to your annual bills.
Microwave
A lot of households leave their microwaves on all the time even when they only use them for less than an hour per day. Microwaves already have a high daily active cost but if they’re also never switched off, then it’ll cost families an extra £5.95 per year.
TV
The annual standby cost for a TV is £5.7 but it’ll be even more expensive if you have a set-top box. TVs are already one of the energy-hungriest devices so make sure to switch them off when they’re not in use to cut back on costs.
Printer
As everything’s online now, printers don’t usually find a lot of everyday use for average households. However, they’re often left to sit in standby mode all year round costing £1.24 per year. It’s not a big sum of money but you may as well save that money instead of letting it go to waste.
