I’m a mum-of-two – I’ve turned off vampire devices to see how much money we’d save and was surprised by the result
MUM Alex Lloyd discovers why switching on to the idea of turning off home devices helps her family finances.
DO you nag the kids to switch off the lights – but fail to follow your own advice when it comes to your phone charger?
It could be coming back to bite you, with British Gas estimating that “vampire devices” — such as the wifi router and TV box which drain energy when not being used — account for up to 23 per cent of a household’s electric use.
That equates to £265 of the average annual bill of £1,156.27.
As a family of four living in a Victorian three-bedroom terrace in York, my husband Tom, 41, our two kids and I get through 2,900 kWh of electricity per year — the average amount used by a British household.
And with our Shell Energy direct debit jumping from £150 in May to £227 in September — an extra £924 a year — I’m all for slaying those energy vampires, which cost us even when they’re left on standby.
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Will Hodson, founder of energy campaign How To Save It, says: “The best way to reduce your bill is to reduce your usage — and turning off vampire devices is a key way to do it.
“You can start saving money straight away.”
Like so many families right now, we’re anxious about our budget.
I’m self-employed and our mortgage is set to go up by £300 a month after Christmas.
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I FELT SCROOGE-LIKE
I like to think we’re already pretty careful about not wasting energy — keeping our central heating use to a minimum, not using a tumble dryer and investing in thermal curtains.
But I’ll admit that as our sons Ralph, six, and Max, three, are getting older we seem to be spending more and more on energy.
In addition to the television, wifi box and washing machine, we now have three Sonos wireless speakers — plus two electronic doorbell speakers — a dishwasher, an iPad and even a wine fridge.
Me and my husband Tom both work from home full-time, too, which means that there are two laptops, a desktop computer and a printer, along with a three-point mesh network to bounce the internet up to our office in the loft.
Could committing to turning these off when not in use really help us save money and the planet? I decided to do a one-week trial to find out.
At first, it feels laborious and a little Scrooge-like to go round switching things off.
I have enough on my plate with two energetic kids and my work deadlines.
And I was not the flavour of the month when I started by turning off the multiplug that feeds the wifi router, TV, Virgin TV box, DVD player and mesh system before bed.
“Where has YouTube Kids gone to?” wailed Ralph as he picked up the iPad the next morning.
Luckily, it didn’t take long for them to reboot, despite warnings from manufacturers that not leaving them all on standby can be problematic because they can’t update software overnight.
I found the main inconvenience faced was the location of the switch, right behind a sideboard.
I had to stand on a stepstool to reach the plug for our integrated microwave.
Tom was frustrated by my pleas to charge up his phone in the morning, not overnight.
It meant he only had to plug it in for two hours to reach full charge, rather than eight hours.
Having ignored our smart meter since it was installed 18 months ago, it became my new best friend, as I pored over the figures daily — and it had some good news for me after a week of slaying my vampire devices.
The previous week, we had used £23.56 and 62.26 kWh of electricity, with the weekend particularly expensive as we watched films to avoid the wet weather and cooked a Sunday roast.
But when we diligently turned things off, the total was £19.02 and 48.15 kWh — a saving of £4.54 and only three-quarters of the power.
While our use varies monthly, this is at least £200 a year in savings, as predicted.
I’m astonished — and a converted vampire-device slayer.
Will adds: “I urge all households to use this simple hack to lower bills. Switch off to save.”
What we turned off
- TV and DVD player
- Wifi router
- Virgin TV box
- Three mesh system hubs
- Two electronic doorbells
- Three Sonos
- Wine fridge
- Washing machine
- Dishwasher
- Oven
- Kettle
- Toaster
- Digital Gro Clock
- Four phone chargers
- Digital radio
- Two laptops
- Desktop computer
- Printer
- Electric toothbrush charger
- Various lamps
Where to cut back
SMART TV: Modern sets no longer have an off-switch to allow quick activation with the remote control – and they use 1.3 watts an hour on standby.
Will says: “It’s estimated that not leaving your TV on standby could save you from £10 to £12 per year.”
SONOS: Wireless speakers, along with voice-controlled virtual assistants, make life easier but are a drain on power around the home, costing up to £142.50 a year.
Will says: “These can use up to four watts per hour, so be careful about leaving on unnecessary ones.”
PHONE AND TABLET CHARGERS: U Switch says the recommended time to refill a smartphone battery is 40 minutes to two hours, so if you charge overnight you’re needlessly wasting electricity – as chargers consistently use energy when plugged into the wall and turned on.
Will says: “If the battery or cable is still warm, then it’s using electricity.”
WIFI HUB: While you constantly use wifi when at home, Will thinks it’s worth turning your router off when you are away.
He says: “Considering it costs about £30 per year to power your hub, it pays to turn it off when you go on holiday or are away for the weekend.”
MICROWAVE: They might be a more energy-efficient way to cook than the oven but that digital clock on your microwave will cost you.
Will says: “Microwaves in standby use about 3 watts of electricity per hour – that’s £9 a year.”
It’s hassle-free to just switch off at the plug.
EXTRA FRIDGE OR FREEZER: Modern shopping habits mean we stockpile food, but this can cost more.
Will says: “While the aspirational might dream of having two fridges, they can cost over £100 a year to run.”
WASHING MACHINE AND DISHWASHER: These aren’t the worst offenders, according to Will, but you can still save a few quid each year by turning them off.
He adds: “The best thing to do is limit the number of cycles you run and try to use them outside of 6-8pm, when energy use from other households peaks.”
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PRINTER: With more of us working from home, more households have their own printer.
Leaving yours on standby can cost £19.50 per year, according to British Gas.
Will says: “Home offices are full of devices and chargers, so there are savings to be made when you switch off at the end of your working day.
Electricity savings
OUR energy provider is Shell Energy and we have been on the Energy Price Guarantee Direct Debit rate, which started on October 1.
Electricity costs 32.239p per kWh with a daily standing charge of 49.93p.
Our estimated annual consumption is 2,900 kWh and our estimated annual bill for electricity is £1,118.
STANDARD WEEK’S ENERGY USE: £23.56 (62.26 kWh)
ENERGY SAVING WEEK: £19.02 (48.15 KwH)