The short answer is yes!
Heating and cooling combined use the largest amount of energy in the average Australian home. They account for around 40% of household energy use according to YourHome.gov.au.
Coffee makers. Television sets. Washing machines. Practically every appliance and electronic device you have plugged in at home is using some electricity — and adding to your utility bill — even when it isn't in use or even turned on.
Most devices we own consume electricity even when not in use. This is also true of energy-efficient, Energy-Star-rated devices such as your laundry machine or even your fridge. In reality, a phone charger uses energy whenever it is plugged in, regardless of whether it charges your phone or not.
How to find which appliance is using too much electricity? The most reliable way to find this out is to get an electricity usage monitor. It'll tell you exactly how much electricity a device or appliance is using. Just plug the monitor into a socket and then plug your appliance into the monitor.
To get specifics regarding your energy usage, you need an electricity usage monitor that tells you exactly how many kWh a device or appliance is drawing. It can be as simple as a "plug load" monitor that plugs into an outlet. You then plug the device/appliance into the monitor.
While TVs aren't the biggest culprits on the average household energy bill in Australia - heating and cooling typically take top honours there - they can consume a decent amount of energy. In fact, TVs can use more energy than your fridge and freezer – around 6% of your total energy usage.
An LCD TV, which is equal to around 120 watts consumes 0.12 kWh, so if it's turned on for 8 hours = 48p per day or 6p an hour. However, if you have a plasma TV, these are around 350 watts on average, so consume 0.35 kWh, so if it's turned on for 8 hours a day, it will cost £1.44 or 18p an hour.
Ideally yes you should turn off certain appliances at the socket when not in use. If the wall socket doesn't have an on off switch it would need to be unplugged instead. Electricity still runs inside an appliance even if it's switched off.
Turn your appliances off at the wall
The most effective way to reduce the amount of standby power you use is to turn your devices and appliances off at the wall when you've finished using them.
On average, hair dryers use about 1,500 to 2,000 watts of electricity. Using a hair dryer for 10 minutes per day will use about 9.13 kilowatt-hours of electricity per month and 109.5 kilowatt-hours of electricity per year. A hair dryer costs an average of $1.30 to use for a month and $15.54 to use for a year.
Most air fryers use between 1.4 and 1.7kWh (kilowatts of energy per hour).
When it comes to household appliances, the ones that use the least electricity per hour tend to be the ones consumers use least. Hair dryers, ovens, and space heaters use very few kilowatt hours and even refrigerators are energy friendly.
Refrigerator Energy Consumption
According to Reduction Revolution, the average refrigerator will use between 1 to 2 kilowatts per hour each day, averaging about $150 per year.
highest for multiple family households (20 kWh/day per household) followed by couples with children (17 kWh/day per household). lowest for those living in single person households (8 kWh/day per household) and group households (12 kWh/day per household).
Washing machines, dishwashers and tumble dryers account for 14% of a typical energy bill, taking the top spot in our list. The power needed to heat the water that they use pushes up consumption, making them energy-hungry household appliances.
It's cheaper at night, when demand for power is at its lowest. This quieter period is called the off-peak hours, which usually falls between 10pm and 8am. Conversely, peak hours are during the daytime, when more people are using electricity and demand is higher.
Yes. There are still components in the laptop charger that uses a "little" energy when it is plugged in.
"Charging a mobile phone costs less than a penny per charge. Leaving it plugged in overnight uses a little more energy but the most our quick investigation showed you could save was an average of 40p a year if you charge your phone when you need it," said Which?
The most common myth about overnight charging is that it can overload your battery. This is simply not true. All smartphones are designed with protective measures that prevent the battery from overcharging once it's full.