I think many consumers are aware that even when a technology product is turned off, it is still entirely capable of consuming energy/power. Well, presuming that it hasn’t been physically switched off or had its power cable pulled out of the wall socket. – Out of general convenience, however, and being very honest, we tend to leave most of our stuff switched on ready for use. My television and Skybox, for example, are nearly always left on standby. Largely because I can’t be bothered waiting 5 minutes each time for the latter to boot up.
Following a report via Eurogamer, however, with spiralling energy costs, and particularly so in the UK where price caps were recently listed (resulting in a huge leap in many people’s electric bills), British Gas has felt compelled to provide some advice warning consumers against wasting money on “vampire” technology.
Energy Provider Warns Against “Vampire” Tech
As above, we’re pretty sure that most people are aware that a lot of technology these days largely prefers to go into ‘standby’ rather than being completely shut down. – Using “vampires” as an analogy, however, British Gas wants to remind people that these products are still, and perhaps unnecessarily, costing them money on their electric bill by still drawing some energy from the socket.
They estimate that with people being a little more diligent in fully turning devices off, this could see their electric bill reduced, on average, by around £147 per year. – What are they talking about when it comes to “vampire” tech though? Well, such things include:
- Leaving a television and/or gaming console on standby rather than turning it completely off (consoles generally tend to go into a ‘sleep’ mode rather than shutting down to help promote a faster boot-up time).
- Smartphones/devices are being left to permanently charge even when they’re at 100%. – This can even include leaving a USB charger turned on at the wall even if it’s not actually charging anything
- Not physically switching off PC systems (you might notice that many RGB devices such as your keyboard and/or mouse might stay illuminated for example).
Although some sources have since stepped in to say that the £147 figure provided by British Gas has been hugely inflated beyond actual ‘standby’ power energy consumption figures are, however, the bottom line is that a little more diligence with the switch on your wall socket will save you money. – The figures might be questionable, but the advice on saving money definitely is not!
What do you think? How vigilant are you with your tech power consumption? – Let us know in the comments!
