Even if all of your household appliances are turned off, they are still drawing power and costing you hundreds of dollars every year, according to a local expert.
Allison Torres, from San Diego Gas & Electric says some appliances draw phantom power from wall sockets even when you are not using them. These include blenders, TVs, kitchen appliances and gaming consoles.
Torres says it may not seem like a big problem but you could end up paying approximately $300 on your electricity bill every year.
Modern appliances are more energy efficient but anything that is plugged in and has a digital display tends to draw power at all times, even while it’s not being used.
“If you look around your house and see a little red light or a green light, that’s a good indicator that something is continuing to draw power from the wall,” Torres said.
Some appliances use almost half the amount of electricity while they are off as they use when they are on. The biggest phantom power users are washing machines, cable boxes and laptops.
“I would encourage everybody to either unplug the devices or invest in a smart strip that can tell the socket when to shut off at the source if it’s not in use,” Torres said.
