Vampire appliances are not the same as vampires that you read about and are frequently seen on the television. No matter how much you’re a fan of Twilight, you probably don’t want to meet a real vampire and you certainly don’t want vampire appliances in your home.
Page Contents
What Is A Vampire Appliance?
Take one look around your home and you’ll see a multitude of electrical items, many of which are still plugged in although they are turned off. This is often for ease and convenience. You can simply relax in your chair, hit the remote button, and away you go.
But, many appliances, especially modern ones with smart technology, actually use electricity even when they are in standby. They need to monitor their surroundings and be prepared to react as and when necessary.
It’s estimated that as much as 10% of your annual electricity bill simply feeds vampire appliances. The good news is that in most cases you don’t need to leave these appliances on. Simply unplugging them can save you a significant sum of money.
Of course, some items need to be connected to your smart software, allowing you to control them from outside the home. If this is important to you then you’ll need to leave these items plugged in.
It should be noted that vampire appliances are not the same as electrical leakage, although both can significantly increase your electricity bill. Leakage is the result of bad wiring allowing electricity to disappear into the walls. If you’re interested in saving money it’s a good idea to get your local Sydney electrician like ontimelocalelectrician.com.au to inspect your electrics once a year.
They will pick up leakage issues and help to ensure your system is working as efficiently as possible.
Let’s take a look at the top 5 vampire appliances:
1. Television
You use your television every day and you probably leave it on standby when you’re not using it. Unfortunately, all televisions suck electricity in standby mode. There are differences in how much electricity they will suck, LCD is better than plasma screens, and LED are better still. But, the fact is they will be sucking your electricity for more hours a day than you spend watching them.
Other than costing you more money the only benefit they offer is the convenience of turning them on by remote instead of at the socket. Unplug them whenever you’re not using them to save yourself money.
2. Phone Charger
This is relevant to everyone but particularly relevant if you have children. Having a cell phone has become an essential part of daily life. However, this means that you need to keep it charged in order to ensure it’s ready whenever you need it.
Many people simply leave it plugged in. However, if you leave it plugged in after it’s fully charged it can damage the battery in the phone. This is also true if you keep topping it up rather than letting it run down to nearly empty.
In addition, leaving it plugged in when fully charged doesn’t stop the charger from drawing current and using electricity. Once it’s charged unplug it and wait for it to be low before plugging it in again.
Don’t forget, you can get some great solar chargers now that will save you needing to use the mains power again!
3. Laptop
Your laptop is another device that pulls electricity even when it is fully charged. Just like your cell phone this device will suck power through the charger to monitor the power in the laptop and add little extra bits as needed.
The result is an electrical power drain that doesn’t need to happen. It will also affect the battery life in the same way that your cell phone will be affected. It’s good for a battery to run low before being recharged.
Unplug your laptop when you’re not using it or it’s fully charged. It will be easier to grab it and go and you’ll save electricity in the process!
4. Game Console
Most homes now have at least one game console and these can be a hassle to unplug, just as most of the entertainment equipment can be.
However, this is another appliance that draws a significant amount of electricity while in standby mode.
Unplugging it won’t lose the games you’ve saved and it won’t take any longer to get started with your chosen game. But, it will save you money and that has to be a good thing.
If you can’t get to the power supply easily then check your console. Most of them have their own on/off switch. Turning this to off will stop it from being a vampire, allowing you to leave the plugin.
5. Microwave
Your microwave is probably plugged in all the time, ready to be used once or twice a day. The rest of the time it powers the clock and it’s memory, in case you need it for anything.
If you need the time in your kitchen it’s much cheaper to get a standard battery-powered clock on your wall.
In comparative terms, the microwave is one of the worst vampire appliances. This is because it is plugged in all the time but used rarely.
Unplug it and save yourself some money.
Final Thoughts
While unplugging these appliances individually will not make a huge difference to your electricity bill, the collective difference is much more substantial.
When you couple these savings with energy-efficient appliances, modern nenergy-saving gadgets, and a little common sense, you can dramatically reduce your electricity bills. The extra money is certain to be useful for something.
You should note the above list is not exhaustive. Any appliance that uses a remote control will draw power when it’s plugged in. The best thing you can do is walk around your home and see what is plugged in and what doesn’t need to be.
It’s surprising how many items can be unplugged and the difference this can make.