Does switching things off at the plug make a difference?

[Bemyclementine]

My ectricity bill isn't high compared to some, but has still almost doubled. I'm looking at ways to reduce costs especially in the winter. I went into debit last winter and am just out, so should build up a little bit of credit now. I rarely use the tumble dryer (never in summer) or dishwasher, but am thinking about things that are left plugged in and switched on.

Kettle
Washing machine
Tumble dryer
Microwave (no display though)
radio
TV
Dvd player
Lamps
Phone charge

I don't understand how it could help, but appeared to be enlightened.

That saud, I just looked at my smartmeter and as it stands with nothing actively on, I using £0.01per hour. Can't get lower than that cantit?!

Not much!! & presumably that includes your fridge & you can't turn that off at the wall!

www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/experts/article-3315688/amp/My-son-leaves-phone-charger-plugged-s-costing-me.html

Why would a laptop charger be using so much energy if it wasn't connected to anything?? Surely there is nowhere for the energy to go?

I've never left anything on except the tv and internet.

Standing rate is about 40p I think. So it's about 12p we use as we leave the landing light (DP's request) and of course the fridge/freezer.

You would think that's the case- apparently they do use energy. I have noticed the 12v adaptor on my laptop charger gets warm even when not charging my device. I assume a lot is used up in heat.- Interesting article about "Vampire Energy " here- claiming as much as 10% of domestic energy consumption is due to stand by and chargers.
stanfordmag.org/contents/vampire-energy-essential-answer

Some things do, especially those with remote control. And depending on who is your broadband supplier, your router is used to supplement local mobile phone coverage, so it works all the time.

I started turning off my tv, digibox, router and the base unit of my landline when I go to bed. TV and digibox are off 18hrs a day.

So far it has saved £5 a month, but my tv is 17yo and digibox is 10yo. I think newer units probable use less.

Not true. Power is needed for remote control but not all remote control units have a power light.

Yes it is still drawing power and yes it is a fire risk. It’s DH ‘s pet hate, (electrician) e makes sure they are unplugged when they at not actually being used.

I agree with a poster earlier who mentioned the standing charge, we had solar panels and battery back up installed in March, submitted my monthly meter reading and checked the bill, the standing charge was virtually the same amount as the electric we were billed for, so yes, you can reduced usage, but the standing charge remains.

Interesting, just reminded me to unplug my laptop charger!

My leccy company sends a monthly report showing how much energy is being consumed by what. Things on standby and chargers left on used the most. I consider myself careful with the obvious but overlooked some of these.

Some I won't switch off - wi-fi, fridges and security.

Can you post that here?

It's AGL. I'm in Australia.

Here we go:

Your estimated energy use by appliance category

We estimate that 23% of your usage went towards standby and always on.*
Standby and always on $10
Fridges & freezers $8
Lighting $6
Cooking $5
Heating

(incl. electricity to run fans in ducted gas systems) $4
Home entertainment $4
Laundry & dishwasher $3
Anything else $3
Supply Charge $28.35 ($0.91 per day)
This is the cost of getting energy to your home.

I wonder how much things like the clock on the oven & microwave use, these are normally left on 24/7?

As I understand it, the most expensive cost is generating heat. If you electricity is being used to heat, it will be more expensive by far than any item not designed to heat.

Tumble dryers, washing machines on a higher temp, kettles, elec radiators, elec storage heaters, elec ovens - all comparatively more expensive because generating heat is expensive.

Everything else just let it do what it wants

I switch off for this reason too. I always have.

Thanks. I just don't understand how they can know this factually - it has to be an estimate. How can they know if your TV is on standby or not? It's just a counter moving on.

I found it did help, but because it made me think about what I actually used and turn off things I wasn’t using but were left on. About half of my electric use is ‘background’ fridge/freezer type stuff. Washing machine, dishwasher, microwave and chargers add about a quarter and the rest is the oven or other miscellaneous odds and ends. Mostly the oven. I’ve cut oven use to twice a week (when I fill it to capacity) and I don’t need the washers every day. My bill is lower than it was before the increases, so something worked.

Am I right in thinking that using a slower spin speed on a washing machine will also save some electricity? I'm using a lower spin this weekend as the clothes will dry quickly outside regardless but not sure how much difference that would make to electricity usage?

Vampire devices are a bit of a myth now, given that most modern devices - especially in the EU - have to use low power on standby.

In the old days, it was an issue.

For context, a 1 watt device on standby would use 28p in 1000 hours if left on permanently. That's about 28p in 40 days - which is just over 1/2 p a day - about £2.70 per year

For context

ecocostsavings.com/tv-wattage/

Modern TVs use, on average, 58.6 watts when in On mode and 1.3 watts in standby mode.
The power consumption of modern TVs ranges from 10W to 117W (0.5W to 3W on standby).

I was listening to Martin Lewis the other day
the clock on your microwave will cost you around £30/ year
switching off your TV at the plug, will save a similar amount
unplug all your chargers if you’re not actually charging anything

I’m currently sitting in my living room, I have a TV a DVD player, an Xbox and three chargers, that I can see from here
in my bedroom, I have at least 4 chargers plugged in, with nothing charging on them
I have 5 children, each of them will have their TVs on standby when not watching them, a computer/ laptop/ games consoles plus phone chargers, two of them have their own fridges
my kitchen has a microwave and a cooker clock running, my kettle is plugged in
we have four modem extenders plugged in
three different Google play systems
not counting the lights left on etc

thats just off the top,of my head

if everyone of those costs me just 2p/ day, that’s a total of around £1/ day
that equates to around £365/ year
Might just be worth saving that tbh

*I was listening to Martin Lewis the other day
the clock on your microwave will cost you around £30/ year
switching off your TV at the plug, will save a similar amount
unplug all your chargers if you’re not actually charging anything(

A 1 watt standby charge is about 0.028p an hour

24 * 365 = 8760 hours a year

0.028p * 8760 = £2.45

Of course ,a 10 watt standby charge is about £24.50

Most modern devices use very little power on standby. You can normally tell this from a Smart Meter. Our house uses about 45 watts when the bare minimum of devices are on. So about £140 a year.

A bit more on 'vampire energy' including microwave clocks

www.ovoenergy.com/guides/energy-guides/save-on-standby-energy

About 3 watts for a microwave clock - so about £7 per year

It depends, you need to analyse the calorific cost of your rising from the sofa to walk to the switch to turn it off vs the electricity savings to do this. If you have a diet of caviar for example, it might not be cost effective to turn things off. As you will have to eat more caviar to make up for the expense of turning things off at the switch. Makes sense?