How much are you paying for your standby electrical items?

Virgin Radio

16 Aug 2022, 16:27

This Redditor has revealed astonishing hidden costs.

A man - no name given, so let's call him Bob - has tested the appliances in his home to work out how much they’re costing him while on standby.

Not all heroes wear capes.

With prices rocketing, and doom and gloom all around, Bob conducted his tests after purchasing an electric usage meter. He was shocked with the results. 

You probably will be too.

"Present cost is based on the Octopus capped rate of 29.58p per kwh," wrote Bob on Reddit. "Projected cost assumes a 70% increase in October although it looks like it will be higher than this. Contrary to belief, leaving a phone charger plugged in will not end up killing penguins in the Antarctic."

But Redditor Bob explained that most ‘modern switch-mode power supplies draw a negligible amount of power’ but warned that people should be wary of older electrical items. 

"It's worth checking your older appliances," continued Bob. "For me, the microwave was an eye opener. I'm paying £16 (soon to be £27) a year just to have the thing display '00:00' at me all the time. It's now switched off at the wall when not in use."

Bob's inaccurate microwave clock wasn’t even the worst culprit. He found that his Sky Q TV box, even on 'eco mode', would be costing him £48.46 on October’s cost estimates, and £60.79 to run while recording. 

His Virgin Media Wi-Fi router was currently costing £31.09, rising to £52.86 on October’s projected rates. 

Bob wrote, "Sky TV... I didn't expect over 9 watts when it's sitting there doing absolutely nothing. Both boxes are in 'eco mode'".

He continued; "I'm considering having my broadband router and ethernet switch on a timer. A timer costs around £7 and would pay for itself in just over a month if it switched them off for 8 hours a day. I may also do this with the Sky boxes."

As the cost of living crisis continues, the energy research company Cornwall Insight tweeted: "We have released new price cap figures following a wholesale price surge and Ofgem revising their cap methodology."

Cornwall Insight predict that a 'typical household' will pay the equivalent of £3,582 per year from October with an increase to £4,266 per year from January, for three months to March 2023.

This is all very depressing is it not. But thankyou Bob. Thankyou for your service.