Ever feel like your utility bills are out of control? You’re not alone! Tons of people struggle with high energy costs month after month. But what if I told you there’s an easy way to cut down those pesky bills without making major lifestyle changes.
Believe it or not, simply unplugging certain devices and appliances around your home can make a big difference. We’re talking savings that could really add up over time. And the best part? It doesn’t require any special skills or fancy equipment – just a little awareness of the energy zappers hiding in plain sight.
Grab a pen and get ready to jot down this list of 12 items you should unplug ASAP for a lighter utility bill.
Television
Your TV may be the biggest energy vampire lurking in your home. Even when you think it’s off, it’s actually just in standby mode still sucking down power. Older models are especially bad about consuming electricity for absolutely no reason.
Simply unplugging your television can save you a serious chunk of change each month. You don’t have to go TV-free – just get in the habit of pulling the plug after each use. Then you can easily reconnect whenever you want to watch a show or movie. It’s an easy adjustment that pays off.
Cable/Satellite Box
Those set-top boxes you got from your TV provider never take a break from using electricity. They’re busy processing data and awaiting commands 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. All that activity requires a constant flow of power that certainly adds up on your utility bills.
The simple solution is to unplug your cable or satellite box when you’re done watching TV for the day. Don’t worry; thanks to a battery backup, it will still be able to record any shows you have scheduled.
Desktop Computer
You probably already know that those big desktop computer towers gulp down plenty of electricity when they’re powered on and working. But did you realize they’re also big-time energy hogs even when idling or in sleep mode?
Screens, processors, and accessories need power no matter what. Make a habit of fully shutting down your desktop after each use and unplugging it from the outlet. Laptops are generally more energy-efficient, so they don’t need unplugging as frequently.
Printer
Raise your hand if you realize that the printer in the corner has slowly been siphoning electricity 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Most people don’t even think about it, but that printer is always drawing power while it waits for you to send a document. It needs to keep certain components powered up and ready.
The fix is simple—just get in the routine of unplugging your printer after each job. Modern devices can easily power back on for the next use with no drama. Developing this habit will save you a nice chunk of change over time.
Cable/Ethernet Router
Having Wi-Fi piped throughout your home is a beautiful modern convenience. But that router or modem box providing the wireless internet is also a relentless power drain. It doesn’t need to be plugged in and powered on 24/7 unless you really are using the internet every hour of every day.
A better approach is to unplug your router whenever you know for sure you won’t need internet access for an extended period, like overnight while everyone is sleeping or during the workday when you’re gone. It’s just sitting there burning electricity for no good reason during those gaps.
Lamps/Light Fixtures
Do a quick scan of any lamps or light fixtures around your home. Many of them probably have those little rectangular power supply bricks plugged into the wall. You know, those plastic cube things that get warm? Those innocuous-looking boxes are actually low-key energy vampires.
They use small amounts of power constantly, even when the lamp or light isn’t turned on. Do a lap around your place and unplug any of those transformers that you aren’t actively using at the moment. It’ll zap those inefficient trickle drains of power that sneakily run up your bill.
Phone/Tablet Chargers
Okay, do this little experiment: Unplug any charger cords around your home that aren’t actively charging a phone or tablet at that very moment. See how many are just dangling from outlets with nothing connected?
Those cords don’t need to be plugged in when not in use. They’re just leaking small amounts of power all day and night long for no reason. Get in the habit of disconnecting any charger from the outlet once your device is unplugged and topped up. It’s such an easy way to gain charge over your electricity bill.
Coffee Maker
Think about it for a second – when was the last time you actually used your coffee maker pretty much 24 hours a day, 7 days a week? Unless you’re completely addicted to java, the answer is probably never. And yet that coffee maker is always plugged in, slowly pulling power around the clock with its digital clock running constantly.
Do yourself a favor and get into the routine of unplugging your coffee maker after you’ve had your morning brew. Those little energy trickles of powering that clock add up over weeks and months into some serious cash leaks.
Toaster Oven
While we’re hitting the kitchen appliances, let’s look at that toaster oven. It’s probably one of the most underutilized but power-hungry devices in your home. Think about it – how many hours per day is that thing actually making toast or heating up a small meal? Maybe an hour tops?
The rest of the day and night, it sits silently snacking on electricity for no good reason. The solution is to make a habit of unplugging your toaster oven after each use so it can’t slowly soak up power just for giggles.
Electric Blanket
Electric blankets are only doing their job of providing coziness for a few hours per day at most. The rest of the time they’re just taking up real estate on your bed, silently consuming electricity in the background.
These sneaky power drains can really add up over an entire season of use. Do yourself a favor and get religious about unplugging your electric blanket after its toasty goodnight shift is complete each morning.
Space Heaters
Portable space heaters are super energy-intensive appliances by nature. With those powerful heating elements and fans, they just guzzle electricity whenever they’re powered up and running.
But here’s the kicker – they also consume a fair amount of juice just from being plugged in and turned on, even before they’ve started actively heating up yet. Luckily there’s an easy fix – just pull the plug on any space heaters when you’re not using them to cut off this passive energy drain.
Window A/C Units
Those big window-mounted air conditioning boxes are definitely the epitome of convenient cooling. But they come at a steep premium when it comes to energy efficiency costs. Even when the compressor isn’t actively running, the fans are still spinning away and internal components are powered up.
Talk about an electricity guzzler! You can reduce this drain by unplugging your window AC unit when you won’t be using it for an extended period, like overnight or when you aren’t home during the day.
Cutting utility costs doesn’t have to be this crazy uphill battle. You don’t need to make huge lifestyle sacrifices or buy fancy new appliances. Sometimes the biggest savings come from easy adjustments and simple habits. By just unplugging certain household items when they’re not in use, you can slash your energy bills in a major way.
Start with a couple of the biggest power hogs like your TV, computer, and cable box. Unplug them daily when you’re done using them. Then work your way through other energy zappers like video game consoles, printers, and all those random chargers. You’d be surprised how much all those little phantom power loads add up over weeks and months!
