How ‘phantom power’ costs you £140 a year

AS LOCKDOWN rumbles on, it is no surprise that many households are using more energy than they did a couple of months ago. But householders are being warned that the surge in energy usage will come at a price – with bills set to increase by an average of £32 a month.

Research by comparison website Comparethemarket shows that since lockdown began, the use of home appliances such as dishwashers, washing machines, ovens, televisions, laptops and lighting has increased significantly. As a result, energy bills are likely to go up by more than a third.

But while rising costs are unwelcome, there are ways to cut down on energy usage around the home. Sarah Broomfield, energy expert at comparison website Uswitch, says: ‘Although the warmer weather means we are spending less on heating, there are other things we can do to reduce our energy use and keep bills low.’

Broomfield recommends the kitchen as a good place to start. She says: ‘With families making more meals and cups of tea at home, the kitchen is where we use the most energy. Save energy by boiling just enough water to cover the number of cups of teas you’re making or the food you’re boiling in a pan.’

Additional tips include turning the oven off a few minutes before food finishes cooking and ensuring saucepan lids are the correct size for pots and pans.

Around the rest of the home, measures such as turning off lights when not in use and replacing all standard bulbs with LED spotlights can save £49 a year on bills, according to the Energy Saving Trust.

Turning the thermostat down by one degree can save an additional £80 a year, while you can stretch the savings further by only heating rooms in use.

Another easy way to reduce energy costs is to ensure appliances are not plugged in unnecessarily. Steve Buckley, of home energy saving company Loop, says: ‘Some appliances need to be left on all the time, like a fridge or freezer, or must be kept on standby, such as a smart speaker.

‘But many appliances are left on that don’t need to be. This background electricity use is known as ‘phantom load’, because of the way in which energy is invisibly drained without users necessarily knowing about it.’

The average household could be wasting £140 a year through such a phantom load, says Buckley, while in some homes this could be as much as £450.

Checking each room for appliances that can be switched off is a quick way to lower costs with common culprits including desktop computers and digital TV boxes.

Those working from home are also advised not to leave their laptops charging all day, even when they are being used.

Holly Andrews, of financial broker KIS Finance, says: ‘Charge it once in the morning, then use the battery power until it nearly runs out. Most good laptops should last about six hours before needing to be recharged.’

Many households can also reduce bills by checking whether there is a more competitive energy tariff to move to.

Switching to a fixed rate deal will shelter consumers from price rises for the length of the deal and could save those on a standard variable tariff a tidy sum of money.

TOM Lyon, of comparison website energyhelpline. com, says: ‘Continuing falls in the cost of wholesale energy have allowed suppliers to launch a raft of cheap new fixed deals, the likes of which we’ve not seen since 2018.

‘The difference between the best deal on the market and the average UK household energy tariff now stands at a staggering £398 a year, meaning that switching supplier could help consumers save significant amounts.’

Those without a smart meter – which automatically measures the amount of energy used – should submit regular meter readings to their energy supplier to ensure bills are accurate.