The worst vampire appliances which drain your energy and bank account have been highlighted as energy bills rise.
A host of everyday costs are poised to go through the roof, with bill hikes on the horizon ahead of the Cost of Living Crisis.
Utility bills will soar, but there are also rises in National Insurance, Council Tax water bills and other subscription services.
Smart meter analyst Loop are now making households aware of eight appliances we use regularly which can drain your bank account.
Steve Buckley, head of data science at Loop, told BirminghamLive : “Many people I speak to are really worried about their energy bills right now, and sadly the situation is not set to improve for some time yet.
"The reality is that the only way we can lower our energy bills right now is to reduce the amount of energy we use and the key to that is measuring our use.
"If you measure it, you can control it. If you measure it, you can see the impact of changes you make.
“Understanding whether your phantom load is low, medium or high is the first step towards reducing it and can lead to big savings.
"Our free app connects to your smart meter so you can benchmark against other households and track your usage and use the data to your advantage. You can easily identify the culprits draining your energy and adding pounds to your bills.”
Energy-sucking devices, like electric towel rails or underfloor heating, could add a whopping £429 a year (or £8.25 per week) on energy bills from next week. This will increase to £512 a year when the price rises again in October.
Utility bills are expected to spiral by 54% and will rise again in October with even more hikes predicted every three months.
In his spring statement Chancellor Rishi Sunak hinted there could be more help on the way to pay for rising fuel bills.
But Walesonline reports they can be reduced adjusting your thermostat and ensuring you have as much double glazing and insulation as you can.
Before going bust last year, energy company Utilita created a guide to how much energy each appliance uses when on standby,
Archie Lasseter, sustainability lead at Utilita, told The Sun : “Standby mode is a real energy drainer – some items use the same amount of energy as when they’re switched on. In each home, leaving just one TV on standby can waste up to £16 of electricity a year."
While £16 a year may not seem much - turning a TV off would therefore save you £1 month on your electricity bill. More if you have additional TVs, and more when the bills go up in April.
A games console such as an XBox or Playstation will also use around 10 watts in standby - or £16.24 a year each when not in use.
A laptop will add £4.87 a year to your bill if you leave it sitting untouched but plugged in.
Your Google Home or Alexa Smart speakers use almost as much power when in standby as when in use - £3.45 a year on your bill for each speaker.
A plug-in baby monitor will cost you £4.87 a year when not being used
And even a phone charger left plugged in, when not charging, adds 32p a year to your bill.
So overall, if you have a couple of smart speakers, a laptop, a games console, more than one TV and a few other devices then you could be spending £60 a year - or £5 a month - just to leave them not-quite switched off.
People with multiple devices, TVs, laptops and consoles will be spending significantly more.
According to British Gas, up to 23% of British homes' energy use could power vampire appliances - that's £293 of the average energy bill capped at £1,277 a year.
Energy expert Rob Bohm says these devices add up to billions of pounds in wasted power every year.
Bohm said: "They're electrical appliances, chargers and lights all over your home, devices that suck power from the mains — constantly — even when you think they're switched off."
