It’s easy to forget to unplug a phone charger in the morning as you scramble to make coffee, gather up your things and run out the door. However, simply unplugging a few household items can decrease the amount of money you spend on electricity every month due to “energy vampires” – appliances that continue to suck energy even when not in use. Keeping in mind a few household appliances to unplug every day will improve the efficiency of your home.
Laptop Chargers
Like phone chargers, laptop chargers are nearly in constant use. Many people leave their laptops plugged in when at home regardless of the charge level. This means that once a laptop reaches 100%, the charger is simply costing you money.
Toaster Oven
Unless a meal is being prepared, there is no reason to leave a toaster oven plugged into a wall outlet. Ovens and refrigerators use the most electricity in a kitchen but unplugging those is usually not a simple task. By unplugging smaller kitchen appliances, savings and energy efficiency will increase.
Gaming Systems
Most gaming systems come with a memory card. This means that they can be easily unplugged without the risk of losing any saved progress. Like computers and laptops, gaming systems use a greater amount of energy than other household items.
Hair Dryer
Perhaps an unexpected item on this list is the hair dryer. It uses approximately 12 cents per hour when plugged into an outlet. While this may seem trivial, think of the cost over multiple hours and days.
Saving energy and electricity costs only takes a few seconds every day. Taking an extra step after a morning cup of coffee or a Netflix binge to unplug will shave a few cents off the electric bill each time. With continuous practice, there’s no way these energy vampires will suck the money out of your wallet.
If you are noticing uncommonly high electrical bills you should contact a local electrician to inspect your home and determine if you are eligible for energy reducing systems. Gulf Coast Electic offers residential and commercial electrical services to the communities of Destin, Panama City Beach, Niceville, Fort Walton Beach, Crestview and more.
