Energy Vampires: 5 Devices That Will Increase Your Electric Bill – SlashGear

The energy market is one with many nuances. Some homeowners may have solar panels installed on their roofs, and in some areas you have the right to sell excess energy back to the utility company. This can be helpful in keeping your home’s electric bill low. However, neither solution solves a particularly annoying problem that people around the world often face in their homes. Most people are familiar with temporarily unplugging a router to reset the device and speed up the connection it’s causing, but there are actually countless other devices that you should consider unplugging regularly. By unplugging a few key appliances when you’re not using them, you can reduce your electric bill by a significant margin. Why? Well, it’s because of a phenomenon known as the ‘energy vampire’.

An energy vampire is an electronic device that consumes power while it is technically turned off. The result is a steady increase in electricity consumption in your home, even when you are not there or actively using these appliances. However, knowing which appliances use the most electricity can help put an end to this problem. The Ministry of Energy suggests that a homeowner who unplugs appliances when not in use can save up to $100 per year, which amounts to as much as 10% of your total electricity use for the year. The motivation is therefore crystal clear.

Play reported based on data from a 2005 DOE study regarding standby power consumption. It found that the plasma TV was the biggest energy vampire in an average household, with average standby costs of $159.76 per year. With changes in energy labels and the technology itself, this is no longer an accurate estimate of what a modern television could waste. Television technology has advanced considerably over the years, but television was and remains a major consumer of electricity. Nowadays, the smart TV has taken over the mantle of the modern commodity, and it too consumes a lot of energy while sleeping. Smart TVs have a number of additional features built into the device, making them particularly hungry when it comes to power consumption figures. This can ultimately amount to as much as 20% of the TV’s total energy consumption.

Electric radiators directly found in 2025 that UK users can expect to add £14.54 to their annual electricity costs if they leave a TV on standby mode for a year. Groenmatch came with a smaller amount of £4.94 for UK TV viewers. But the larger your TV is, the more you can generally expect it to draw in both use and standby modes.

A good solution to this problem is to connect your television’s power source to the wall outlet via an accessible extension cord. If you select one with an easy-to-use on/off switch, you can disconnect once the device is turned off. Unplugging the TV isn’t always easy, but flipping a switch to turn off the power can be a simple solution.

Video game consoles of all kinds have long been a major power hog. NRDC noted in 2014 that the Xbox One in standby mode consumed almost 16 watts of power over the course of a year. Importantly, this is just one console, and with countless others in action, it’s easy to imagine standby costs skyrocketing. In 2022, based in the United Kingdom Eurogamer found that the PlayStation 5 would cost £9.83 per year if left in rest mode, while the Xbox Series S would go up to £22.60. When properly turned off, both consoles consume approximately 0.2W even without unplugging the power cord.

20% of the world’s consumers own at least one gaming console or have direct access to one (via a 2022 gaming console). YouGov study), and in 2015 a Pew Research Center Research found that 40% of American adults owned a gaming console. A vampire draw from a gaming console is definitely a problem area worth exploring. Adding a switched extension cord to the power chain is an ideal solution here, as for other appliances. Perhaps the more subtle electrical issue that consoles bring into the conversation has to do with their typical use. Modern consoles are multifunctional devices, so adding Netflix or Hulu apps makes sense on a functional level. But a console uses as much as 35 times as much power as a streaming dongle like an Apple TV device, Roku or Fire Stick. Choosing the lower power solution maintains ease of use while drastically reducing your costs.

Printers are among the most noticeable energy vampires in an average household. The BBC reported in 2022 that British households could save £3.81 a year by unplugging their printer rather than leaving it idly when not in use. With just a few cents a month, this may not sound like something to worry about. But the principle is the most important. If you leave your printer in standby mode when you’re not using it, you’re almost certainly doing the same to many other devices in your home. These all add up, and if you always have more than one printer connected (perhaps one for general use and one for a home office), you’ll quickly multiply that wasted figure.

When choosing a new printer you are faced with an important choice. The ink versus toner debate is a heated one for many reasons. The fact is that different user requirements push buyers in one direction or another, yielding a more personalized outcome. Electricity consumption is obviously an area where the debate revolves. Overall, laser printers use more electricity than inkjet models, but neither is particularly power-hungry, at least if you avoid standby mode. If you are not someone who prints a lot, unplugging the device between uses is your best bet.

Media playback tools are major culprits when it comes to phantom energy use. These boxes usually remain under the TV without much, if any, interference. The only media device you probably routinely unplug is the router, but the rest of your boxes (cable, satellite, older media tools like a VCR, and even your DVD and Blu-ray players) tend to sit idly waiting to be engaged. Your cable box alone costs about $50 per year to power, if it stays plugged in at all times. In the modern world of internet archives, streaming services and on-demand playback, there’s really no need to plug in your media tools when you’re not using them.

The router that provides Wi-Fi coverage in your home is another important consideration. Unplugging when you’re on vacation or away for a long day isn’t just a choice that can save you money. By unplugging the router, you eliminate the ability of malicious actors to break into your network while you are not there to notice them. It is possible to install spyware into your system remotely, but this requires access. Disconnecting the Internet connection in your home is the best analog solution to this risk.

The kitchen is stocked with countless appliances that will make your life easier. From large appliances like the dishwasher to smaller appliances like coffee makers and air fryers, many technological gadgets in this room will help streamline your cooking and cleaning tasks, as well as your overall living comfort. Both large and small devices tend to stay plugged in all the time. These tools are often used many times throughout the day. Whether it’s the microwave, the kettle, or something like a baby bottle washer that gets frequent use, unplugging the appliance seems like an inconvenience. The Ministry of Energy noted in 2022 that unplugging small kitchen appliances can save you $10 to $20 in unnecessary electricity costs each year. Add that to the long list of electronic devices that often consume power while in standby mode, and you’re looking at a healthy addition to your bottom line.

Some of the worst culprits are exactly what you’d expect. Coffee makers with auto start options and long-lasting stovetop functions, as well as virtually any appliance with a display, are high on this list. For example, your microwave probably displays the time on an always-on screen. This means that it not only takes power to provide quick functionality when called upon, but it also actively fulfills a role while not in use.