4 vampire appliances that could add an extra $198 to your bill each year

• Find out about the four vampire appliances that could add an extra $198 to your home energy bills.
• Many times we don’t understand why energy bills are so high; it could be due to the so-called «phantom load».
• Follow these tips to save money on your electric bill.

CUT YOUR ELECTRIC BILL AT HOME. Pay close attention because by identifying where you are wasting energy, you can also save money. We tell you about the four vampire appliances that could add an extra $198 to your home energy bills, even when you’re not using them!

Many times we don’t understand why the electric bill is so high. It could be due to the so-called «vampire energy» ​​or «phantom load». This refers to things that use power even when we aren’t using them. These include televisions, lamps or chargers. Even if they aren’t in use, they can add a few dollars to our bills.

4 vampire appliances that could add an extra $198 to your bill

It’s scary, but the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) conducted a study in which it found that people have an average of 65 devices plugged in at home and, in the course of a year, people spend almost $19 billion on idle devices!

Bottom line, people in the US are wasting energy and spending more money than they should. In fact, a typical home spends about $1,444 on energy bills a year and about 14% of that amount comes from that phantom load, according to Save on Energy. That’s roughly $198 completely wasted!

Cable and computer boxes

Among the four vampire appliances that steal our money is the CABLE BOX. The average digital cable box with DVR could cost you almost $50 a year, according to Save on Energy. Of course, it also depends on whether the TV is on and the box is recording. Even if the TV is off and it’s not recording, it could cost you about $49.60.

COMPUTERS don’t help in energy consumption either. Note that they usually have several modes: Inactive could cost you an extra $82.21 a year, sleep could cost you an additional $23.48 a year, while completely turned off would cost you just $3.16 a year. So it is better to turn off the computer when you are done using it!

Chargers

They seem harmless, but CHARGERS tend to consume a lot of energy, especially since the devices we are glued to all day often need regular charging. In fact, people in the United States spend an average of almost 10 hours a day on their devices, so keeping them charged is a challenge.

Chargers are used not only for mobile phones, but also for tablets, power tools, audio players, and other household appliances. A single person already uses several chargers, but there are several people in your household, chargers could be using a lot of energy, especially since people tend to unplug their devices, but not the charger! Tip: UNPLUG YOUR CHARGER.

Air conditioners

Among the appliances with the highest energy consumption are AIR CONDITIONERS, and even more if they are older models. Although we know that in summer air conditioning is often a must, and this requires around 15kWh of energy, there are still some strategies to optimize AC consumption.

You can purchase items to prevent air leaks, such as draft stoppers sold at Walmart or magnetic vent covers for sale on Amazon.