Grab your stakes and garlic because we are going appliance hunting
Amid surging energy bills and a cost of living crisis expected to financially cripple Brits, there are “vampire appliances” looking to drain your funds even further.
While Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis says he’s out of methods for reducing the impact of rising energy bills, smart meter data analyst Loop has offered some interesting advice.
Essentially, dotted around your home in unsuspecting places, “vampire appliances” are being left on for hours – sometimes days at a time – and are adding an extra £500 to your annual energy bills.
Here’s some of the worst offenders…
Extra fridges
If you are lucky enough to have more than one fridge, with the only acceptable use for the other one being alcohol, then this could be adding £99 to your bills. Loop predicts an average unit cost of 28.3p next month, so get that extra fridge turned off until the sun is beaming and we are all complaining about being too hot.
Desktop computers
With much of the UK now enjoying flexible working options, you can presume that far more desktops are being left on all day. While you can’t necessarily switch them off, make sure it’s shut down completely as soon as that clock hits home time. Loop estimates that if you don’t, this could cost you an extra £79 a year from next month – and a further £94 in October when rates are expected to rise once again.
Faulty TV recorder
If you still have a set-top-box recorder then you could be adding £149 to your annual energy bill. While recording the latest episode of Eastenders should be your top priority, figures are expected to reach £176 annually from October – and that’s a lot of money to spend on Phil Mitchell.
Outdoor lighting
As summer fast approaches, so does that time of year where garden parties and cosy nights by the fire-pit are a weekly occurrence. However, if your lights are on, energy is being used. This will add £125 per year to your energy bill, which will increase to £148 come October.
Electric Heating
Electric heating can be a lifesaver in the colder months but unfortunately leaving it on when it’s not needed is a dire mistake. According to Loop, if you’re only using it to heat your home 40 per cent of the time, you could actually be adding £739 to your bill from next month. Come October, that number jumps to £877.
Security lighting
This one’s a little trickier as security lighting serves an important purpose in protecting your property – but oversensitive lighting systems that turn on too easily may actually be a detriment to your wallet.
Such systems could add £50 per year to your energy bill from next month and £59 from October.
Underfloor heating
When the outside is so bitterly cold, coming inside to heated flooring can be a godsend – but Loop claims that using underfloor heating for an extra hour a day could land you with a bill increase of £309, and then £367 in October.
Towel rail
Loop predicts that such contraptions, usually used to heat towels or dry clothes, will add £149 annually, which will increase to £176 in October.
Related links:
- False claims made by Boris Johnson during Prime Minister’s Questions
- Tories plunge 400,000 people into poverty with Spring Statement
- Food bank users decline potatoes because ‘they can’t afford to boil them’, Iceland boss says
