The seven appliances adding hundreds of pounds a year to your energy bill
SWITCHING off a number of appliances around the house can be the simplest way to slash your energy bill.
Many of us leave things plugged into the walls or with the red standby light still glaring away even after we've powered it down.
But doing so could be taking its toll on your finances without you realising.
Electronics that remain plugged in when not being used are described as phantom loads.
Even though you may not be specifically using the appliance itself, as it's still plugged in it will continue to pull electricity and waste a whole lot of money as a result.
Brits are already forking out up to a quarter more than usual on their energy bills, so many are scrambling to cut down costs any way they can.
"The Energy Saving Trust estimates you can save around £35 a year by remembering to turn your appliances off properly, and not leaving them in standby mode.”
There are a number of things you can do room by room in your home to lower costs too, but especially as you vacate a space in your house, make sure everything's turned off.
Others also advise you to use appliances when electricity rates are lowest, in an effort to save on costs.
Taps that constantly trickle can use over 450 litres a day, or a massive 175,000 litres of water in a year, so make sure they are tightly turned off if you want to avoid the excess waste and drain on your bills.
Dishwasher
You should turn off the heated drying system on your dishwasher.
A little-known feature in your dishwasher means it will heat the air it produces to dry the dishes during the cycle.
Of course, you could leave your crockery to air dry for free instead, so make sure the setting is turned off to save on its energy usage.
It costs between £37 and £48 a year to run a standard size dishwasher but opting for a more energy efficient one will lower your costs by £11.
Air conditioning
Now it may seem like an absurd suggestion when the weather is getting nippier anyway, but you should turn your air conditioning off if you use it, as there are cheaper alternatives.
If you are struggling with it being too hot in your home then you may still want cool air to filter through.
But turn off the AC and use fans instead.
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Fans pull far less electricity than AC systems - Octopus energy previously told The Sun that it would cost roughly 9p to run a fan for eight hours.
In comparison a typical air conditioner costs around 44p per hour to run, according to research by Uswitch, so it would add £3.52 to your energy bills for the same length of time.
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