I can’t believe I’m sharing this one trick to save electricity as an actual post. There are lots of ways to save money on electricity, but this one? I mean, it’s so simple that you’re going to shake your head at me.
But it really works, and it would be a disservice if I didn’t share this totally legit way to save electricity with you. So here goes…
Have you heard that some appliances use power when plugged in, even if they’re turned off?
I’ve heard that before, but didn’t really believe it…
Until I read an article where a family reduced their electric bill from $200 to $35 by unplugging their “vampire” appliances.
This, my friends, makes my wheels turn. After all, I don’t have anything to lose by unplugging stuff, right? There is only savings to gain!
So my husband and I set out to experiment.
To Save Electricity, Identify What’s Using It
For one month, we committed to unplugging as many things as possible when they weren’t in use. Our last electricity bill was for April, and it was $76.75. Which is not a high bill to start with compared to most families. However, we don’t have air conditioning and it’s rare to use the heat during the day in the winter.
With neither the air conditioning and the heater being an issue, the focus becomes big appliances in the kitchen. Then it’s the small things that have actual plugs, which requires a walk around the house to really see what’s plugged in.
On the first pass, I noticed LOTS of things that were plugged in and not being used. Here’s just a handful of items I found when I went through the house, room by room:
- television (we don’t have cable, so I’m not sure why we even kept this plugged in!)
- laptop charger (unless it’s actually charging, this is just silly)
- coffee pot (our coffee brews into a carafe, meaning we don’t have a burner… once it’s brewed, there’s really no need to have it plugged in!)
- microwave
- lamps (can you believe we had some plugged in, in rooms where they rarely get turned on because we only use the room during the day?)
- toothbrush charging stations
While it might not seem like a big deal to have these items plugged in, none of them were actually in use.
So, is “vampire” electricity really a thing? Can you save electricity by unplugging everything that you’re not using?
How to Save Electricity: One Simple Trick
Here’s the big secret to save electricity: unplug it all.
I know, who would have thought it was that easy?
After I took inventory of everything that was plugged in, I promptly unplugged as much as I could.
The only items I left plugged in were the oven, dishwasher, washer and dryer. The oven and dishwasher mostly because they’re very difficult for me to pull out and unplug on my own.
I kept the washer and dryer plugged in for convenience. We use an indoor clothesline as much as possible to reduce using energy from the dryer.
There are two lamps in the master bedroom and one in the kid’s room that I also left plugged in because they all require a switch to be turned on.
Finally, I left the printer plugged in since it’s in an awkward spot under the desk. But when I’m done printing I’ll make sure to turn it off, rather than letting it sit in stand-by mode.
How Much Does this Trick to Save Electricity Save?
Remember that we committed to unplugging as many items as we could – and turning off everything else – for one whole month.
How much did we save when the month was over?
Our next electricity bill was just $56.44!
We saved 26% off our electricity bill in a month! For simply unplugging and/or turning off items we didn’t use. Pretty amazing, right?
If only we discovered this when we cut our monthly expenses in half!
Think Unplugging to Save Electricity is Inconvenient?
The biggest issue people have when I share this awesome way to save electricity is that they think unplugging items is inconvenient.
Honestly, I haven’t found this to be the case at all.
We use a power strip for the entertainment center. The TV, Wii and DVD player are all plugged into it. When we want to watch something or play a game, we simply flip the red switch and turn it on. The TV and Wii turn on automatically. The DVD player is the least used electronic, but since it still requires the power button to be pressed, we’re not wasting money by having it plugged into the power strip.
Our microwave isn’t built-in above the oven. Rather it sits on the kitchen counter. Whenever we want to use it, we simply plug it in, use it, and unplug. It’s really that simple.
If our microwave WAS a built-in above the oven, I probably wouldn’t unplug it after every use. However, the plug is relatively easy to reach in a cabinet above it, so it’s easy to unplug at night when we go to bed. That saves us at least 8 hours of electricity!
We’re fortunate that most of our plugs are not behind heavy furniture, but I know that’s an issue for some families. This surge protector with an 8 foot cord might be helpful. Or if you have a very large entertainment center, consider this massive 3 foot long power strip on a 15 foot cord!
I don’t have the energy to be an unplug nazi and follow everyone around the house all day, but I can take one minute in the morning and one minute at night to save electricity by up to 26% each month. Those two minutes are definitely worth it in my book!
How much or how little you unplug is a matter of personal preference – it all adds up to save electricity in the end. The only downside to this trick to save electricity is that I didn’t try it sooner!
Our microwave isn’t built-in above the oven. Rather it sits on the kitchen counter. Whenever we want to use it, we simply plug it in, use it, and unplug. It’s really that simple.
Impressive! Switching to LED lights is one of the best ways to save electricity and thousands of dollars on your energy bills.
I found it interesting when you said to unplug items that you’re not using. For some reason, our energy bill is increasing and I want to lower the bill every month. I’ll be sure to use these tips to lower my energy bill next month.
It sounds weird when you say that just by unplugging the appliances we can save electricity. Doesn’t modern electronic circuitry detect if the appliance is idle or not?
No, it doesn’t! Appliances are smart enough to turn on and off with a switch, but there’s a constant flow of electricity from the outlet… so it can be turned on at any time! It’s up to us to cut that flow, and in turn, we save money!
I turn off my water heater and that is a good saver. Except for stove/microwave, refrigerator, and now WiFi EVERYTHING else is unplugged. If the WiFi makes the bill go up too much I will put that on a strip. Now I will be turning off the stove by the breaker. I am single and have leftovers or frozen leftovers, so stove goes unused for weeks.I hope this will help a little because my Rinnai will be on for heat. It is no trouble plugging in items as used .
more or less, it works!
even simple devices includes capacitors at the “entrance” of their circuits, and these let current flow thrugh, which we have to pay, even if we have no use of them.
I think saving energy is not a difficult task, you just need to a keep a few things in mind like; unplug your appliances when they are not in use, switch off the lights if no one is in the room and make the design of your room in a way you can use natural light in the daytime. Install LEDs, as they are relatively cheaper in long run than CFLs or halogens. And if you can afford initial cost, installing solar panels is the best thing you can do to save maximum bills.
It’s absolutely right that plugged appliances consume a lot of energy. Every now and then, our electronic devices remain on or plugged in; and they still use energy, which costs you on electricity bill. So, every electronic device needs to be unplugged when not in use, it will help you to save money on bills.
There is no mention of switching to LED lightbulbs. Has anyone switched? We live in a small apartment in an older building. There are electrical baseboard heaters which proved to be main portion of our bill. We shut the thermostats off; one in the living room but the one in the bedroom was on. Huge difference in our bill. We bought an infrared heater for the living room and this year will get one for the bedroom. We do have an upright freezer and noticed the increase but didn’t mind because the savings from shutting off the baseboard was huge. We do keep everything plugged in including the iron, sewing machine, computer, laptop, toaster, microwave and lamps. Unplugging these when not in use won’t be much of a difference is our case. But, I am going to give the challenge a go and see for sure. Oh, I should also mention my hubby thinks that LEDs are the way to go. He seems to think that he can start leaving lights on and not have to worry about the power usage. But I keep reminding him, but what about the life of the lightbulb and the price. LOL. It all factors in there.
To the best of my knowledge, LED light bulbs save energy over time, but you won’t see the savings right away. They do not emit heat though, so maybe you’ll see savings in the room temperature? Let us know how the small changes add up for you Eugenia!
I am curious after coming across a few posts on your blog-have you and your husband considered installing solar panels for the long term savings and benefits? If not, do you not think it’s worth it? We plan to do this when we purchase our home soon.
26%?!? That’s phenomenal!! I knew about vampire electricity but had no idea it could add up to that much! You’ve inspired me to start unplugging things when I’m done with them. I’m looking forward to the savings!
After reading a lot of these comments, I’m starting to see that us Florida residents get screwed on our electric bills. I run on average $200 a month with ac at 84. I have tried the unplugging and it helps but it’s a pain…so…I got smart. I just got to the electric panel now and switch everything off when I leave the house except the fridge and only switch things back on when I need them. Even turn the water heater off, it takes a while for ours to cool the water down so an 8 hour work shift with it off surprisingly still have hot water. They say the water heater is the second most expensive appliance to run.
Way to outsmart the company Leah!!
We’ve been unplugging our microwave for years now because of the kids can easily put something in it and also to save electricity..when we first moved in to our house the light bulbs are yellow and i think it was 60 watts..we bought 13 watts day light bulbs and change everything in the house and this saves us a lot in electricity bills..thanks for sharing