What Are Vampire Devices?

Vampire or Phantom devices refers to any device or appliance that even when not in use, still uses energy. 

It doesn’t sound a lot, but the average household spends £147 a year on invisible energy by leaving devices on standby.  That can be up to 23% of your bill being wasted energy you have paid for.  When your devices or appliances are not in use, switch off at the socket or pull the plug out so you are not wasting energy. 

Every cord that remains plugged in is pulling energy out of the plug.  Even in sleep or standby mode, they are still using energy often to perform updates, connect to remove servers and record data. Charging of devices has become much quicker but we often leave them to charge overnight or forget about them, they still use energy even after completely charged.   

Not all devices such as fridges, freezers, security systems or smart home devices can be switched off but others can.  Identify appliances you don’t use regularly and unplug them after use. 

 Average energy vampires are:

1.       Wi-fi routers – cost £32.60 per year

2.       Televisions (especially smart TVs with WiFi, DVR or satellite features) at £30.60

3.       Set-top boxes - £25

4.       Microwaves on standby - £21.70

5.       Games Consoles - £16.10

6.       Desktop computers - £14.80

7.       Smart speakers and home devices - £13

8.       Electric showers - £11.80

9.       Dishwashers - £9.10

10.  Washing Machines - £6.30

11.  Printers - £5

12.  Phone chargers - £1.70

Individually it might seem low but when you look at the cumulative cost of multiple devices, it soon adds up.  By changing your habits, you can save £££££s in your pocket rather than giving it to your energy provider.

The main ways to stop vampire devices draining your energy are:

1.     Replacing or upgrading old appliances that have a low energy efficiency rating for more energy efficient models (labelled A, B or C) will overtime show a noticeable reduction in consumption.

2.     Unplug unused devices – by doing this, the device isn’t drawing power.

3.     Use smart plugs or timers – these allow you to turn off multiple appliances with the touch of a button or schedule them to power off at specific times.

4.     Turn off at the wall – using a wall switch or a plug stripe/multiple plug bank, is great for hard to unplug appliances such as your TV or Wi-Fir router.  You can disconnect multiple devices at the same time with one switch