Energy guzzlers at home: the biggest electricity consumers
All figures and calculations are correct at the time of publication.

Energy guzzlers at home: the biggest electricity consumers

You might snap up 2-for-1 deals and quibble over a few pence’ difference when comparing products in the supermarket. But do you take the same meticulous approach to your home energy use?

If not, you’re not alone; even well-informed people and frugal savers may be clueless about what appliances are causing the most damage to their energy bills.

The reality is that energy use varies hugely by appliance. The Carbon Footprint website has created a useful table showing energy use by different types of electrical items.

Energy guzzlers table

Use the table as a guide and you’re likely to be able to prioritise your energy use and cut back on the biggest power-drainers.

This is only a start. There may be other appliances draining power in your home that you’ve never thought about.  Loop helps you to identify the “always-on” (we call it Phantom Load) and the devices that use a lot of power.  You can then make decisions about how you use them and which ones to turn off. 

We know from talking to Loop users that it’s also helped them to find out when devices have gone wrong.  If the thermostat on your immersion heater fails for example, your immersion heater will continue to heat your water continuously.  Dangerous and costly.  The first you know about it might be when someone gets scalded by unexpectedly hot water or when you get your next electricity bill through and see a big jump.  Or if, like many people, you pay by Direct Debit you might not notice for several months.  A simple failure like this could cost you upwards of £150 per year.      

If you want to make a more sustained and significant cuts to your home energy consumption, here are a few other steps you can take:

  • Get yourself Loop and you get to see your home energy use in real time, meaning you can identify exactly which items in your home are using the most power. 
  • Visit http://www.toptenuk.org/ when shopping for white goods to find the most energy-efficient options on the market.
  • Switch energy suppliers. This is one of the best ways to cut your energy bill, providing savings of up to £300 a year, according to analysis by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).
  • Don’t fall into the standby trap: if you don’t turn off appliances such as your microwave, washing machine and oven at the plug when you’re not using them then you could waste £30 a year.
  • Read our article on energy myth busters to sort fact from fiction.

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With Loop, you can find out how you use electricity, then make smart decisions about using less - click here to find out more. We have a risk-free, no-quibble, money-back guarantee as standard, so what's to lose...apart from some £££ from your bills and some weight from your carbon footprint?

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