Not to brag, but I live in one of the least energy efficient homes around. It is draughty, poorly insulated and heated by badly-positioned, undersized radiators that often fail to heat up properly. What all this means is that our household heating bills can be eye-watering, particularly in the winter months, making us keen to do all we can to cut down on our energy usage wherever we can.
Until recently I hadn’t heard of ‘vampire appliances’ – more fool me. These are basically appliances not to leave on standby if you don’t want to find your energy bills surprisingly high – they surreptitiously suck energy from your home in ways you might not have realised they could.
Upon discovering the impact these pesky little energy-draining devices could be having on my finances, I got to work unearthing those that were doing the most damage – and now consider myself something of a vampire appliance slayer (much to the annoyance of my two teenagers who, it turns out, were only making the problem worse.)
What are vampire appliances?
First things first, if, like me, you are guilty of a few energy guzzling habits and are only just hearing about vampire appliances – also known as ‘vampire devices’ and ‘energy vampires’ – it is useful to get to grips with exactly what these energy leaches are.
‘Vampire appliances are everyday devices that keep using electricity even when you think they’re turned off,’ explains Martyn Fowler, founder of Elite Renewables. ‘If something is left on standby or plugged in at the wall, there’s a good chance it’s still drawing power in the background. Most people are surprised by how many items in their home are quietly using energy all day and night.’
‘Putting something into standby mode is not the same as totally switching off a device or unplugging it. You’re only really putting the device to sleep,’ picks up Stephen Hankinson, heating expert at Electric Radiators Direct. ‘This means that it will be drawing out some electricity in the background, which is where the term ‘vampire device’ comes from. It sounds so simple but switching your appliances off at the wall really is the best way to ensure you’re not spending your hard-earned income on keeping things in standby mode.’
‘With heating and lighting, the cost feels obvious,’ adds Martyn Fowler. ‘You notice a light left on, and you can feel when the heating is running – but appliances that draw power in the background are easy to miss because you can’t see or feel them working. Over time, those small amounts add up and can make a big difference to your electricity bill.’
Discovering our personal vampire appliances
There are lots of different devices and appliances that can send utility bills soaring and those that I found were draining our energy may well be quite different from the ones affecting your home. I was actually really surprised at the devices making the biggest impact and it wasn’t until I had spoken with some experts that I became fully aware of just how much they could be adding to our household outgoings.
1. Phone and laptop chargers
With two teenagers in the house, phone and laptop chargers can be hard to get my hands on – how do they always all end up in their bedrooms, even when I think I have hidden mine safely out of sight? Little did I realise how much energy they use, even when not in use.
‘Phone chargers, laptop cables, and even electric toothbrush chargers left plugged in even when not in use still draw a small amount of power,’ explains Martyn Fowler.
While the £1.22 per year that Stephen Hankinson estimates leaving a phone charger plugged in uses, when you multiply that by five or six, it begins to add up – an energy saving change I will be putting into place straight away.
2. Games consoles
Now this was a big one. While we are not necessarily a gaming household, at certain times of the year, the kids tend to get back into using games consoles and, do they turn them off when not in use? Of course they don’t. I was actually really shocked when I learnt how much this could be adding to our bills.
‘Sorry to all gamers – games consoles and gaming PC’s are vampire devices that cost a small fortune to leave on standby,’ reveals Stephen Hankinson. ‘And for all you remote workers, a desktop computer came out as the third most expensive device to keep on standby.’
According to Electric Radiators Direct, you can expect bills to rise by a whopping £34.62 a year if you leave games consoles on standby – definitely one energy saving tip to take note of.
3. Microwave
It isn’t often we use the microwave these days, but still, there it sits, plugged in, proudly displaying the wrong time. Turns out, this rarely used, worktop space-guzzling appliance is bumping up my household bills more than I thought – £5.08 per year according to Electric Radiators Direct.
Martyn Fowler explained to me to be on the lookout for anything with a display or standby light.
4. Televisions
Another main culprit – the television. I had no idea how much electricity a TV uses – even when it is off.
Electric Radiators Direct estimate that leaving a TV on standby could be adding up to £14.54 to your yearly household bills.
Given that my son got a television for Christmas this year, we now have three sets in the house – if we leave all of these on standby that’s £43.62 extra on our bills.
5. Smart speakers
It is easy to assume that fitting a smart home ecosystem would be a good way to save you money, but if you don’t use them correctly they could, in fact, do the exact opposite.
It turns out that leaving the innocent-looking Google Home on my kitchen window sill plugged in at night or while we are out and about is costing me more than I realised – an extra £10.16 according to Stephen Hankinson.
My daughter has a Google Mini in her room which, I assume, costs about the same when left on standby – needless to say, both will now be switched off at the wall when not in use.
6. Range cooker
Range cookers look beautiful and are perfect for keen cooks – I don’t know where we’d be without ours. While this one might seem an obvious vampire appliance, I wanted to mention it because it is a tricky one to know how to address.
According to Electric Radiators Direct, leaving my cooker plugged in could be costing me up to £8.31 over the course of the year.
However, I really don’t want to be turning it on and off again every day as it would mean resetting the clock display each time – and I use this clock a lot. Looks like I’ll just have to accept this one.
The changes we’ll be making
The expert advice I received was super helpful, but I also took other steps to assess which devices were sneakily stealing energy from my home – using smart plugs with an energy monitor.
Once I had identified the appliances that were costing me the most, it was simply a case of paying attention to which were running in the background.
‘Start by switching things off properly. If you’re not using a device, unplug it or switch it off at the wall. That’s the simplest way to stop unnecessary energy use,’ says Martyn Fowler. ‘You can also use a switchable extension lead for devices like TV setups or computer stations. This makes it easy to turn several devices off at once.
‘Smart plugs are another good option,’ adds Martyn. ‘They let you schedule when appliances turn off and on. That means no more devices running through the night when nobody is using them.’
How much money could we save?
I had been focussing my energy saving efforts on things like looking at how much my central heating costs to run but, with my eyes now opened to how much leaving these devices and appliances on standby could be costing me, I decided to calculate just how much I could save with my new-found knowledge.
‘The Energy Saving Trust did a study a couple of years ago and estimated that vampire appliances account for 9-16% of the average household’s electricity bill,’ reveals Martyn Fowler. ‘That works out to around £80 to £140 per year. If you work from home or have a lot of electronics in the home, it could be even more.
‘You don’t have to invest in any home upgrades or make any major changes to your behaviour,’ adds Martyn. ‘It’s just about switching things off, using smart plugs where it helps, and being more aware of what’s quietly running in the background.’
A quick tot up of the vampire devices costing me the most showed I could save around £97 per year by turning them off – and if I were to switch off others around the home too, such as the handheld vacuum charger, coffee machine and air fryer, I could easily save over £100 – that would pay for my monthly Netflix subscription.
Shop smart plugs with energy monitors
EIGHTREE Smart Plug with Energy Monitoring
These smart plugs can be voice controlled with Alexa or Google Home Assistant. Using the app on your smart device you can track exactly how much energy each of your appliances is using.
Tapo P110 Smart Plug with Energy Monitoring
Not only does this affordable smart plug allow you to monitor the energy usage of appliances, it also gives you remote access so you can operate them even while out and about.
UPXNBOR Smart Plug Wi-Fi Outlet
Simple to set up, this pair of smart plugs allow you to set timers, connect multiple plugs and monitor energy usage – plus they are compatible with Amazon Alexa and Google Home.
FAQs
What is the best way to identify a vampire appliance?
Once you know how much it costs to leave appliances on standby, you will no doubt be keen to identify each and every one.
‘The easiest way is to use a smart plug with built-in energy monitoring,’ explains Martyn Fowler. ‘You plug it into the wall, then plug your device into that, and it shows exactly how much power it uses when on, in standby and off. They are really simple to use and can be a real eye-opener.
‘For a bigger picture, a whole-home energy monitor is really useful,’ continues Martyn. ‘These devices connect to your electricity meter and show your energy usage in real time. You can switch off appliances one by one and watch how your consumption changes. If everything should be off but your monitor is still showing usage, then something in your home is quietly drawing power.
‘Most people can set one up themselves without needing a professional,’ adds Martyn. ‘The most popular type in the UK is the clamp-on monitor. It comes with a small sensor clip that you attach around the main power cable in your consumer unit. This sensor reads how much electricity is flowing through your home and sends that information to a display or app. There’s no need to cut wires or do anything complicated. It’s safe for DIY installation as long as you follow the instructions and don’t open up the fuse box itself.’
Meross EM06 (150 A) Smart Meter
Keep tabs on exactly how much energy each of your appliances is using with this handy monitor which comes with a host of features, including those that allow you to see which month has the highest power usage, alerts you to overloads, and even shows energy usage room by room.
It isn’t just appliances and electrical devices in your home that add to your overall household bills – certain home decor choices add to heating bills too. Make sure you familiarise yourself with what they are if you are planning on a refurb this year.
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