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What Should You Leave Plugged In?
If you take a quick look around your home, or perhaps even just one room, you might find that a lot of your outlets are in use. From phone chargers to televisions, blenders, hairdryers, and more, we use lots of devices to keep our lives going these days. What you may not have known is that many of these devices can increase your power bill when plugged in, whether or not they're actually in use – this is something called phantom power.
Phantom power supplies electricity to your devices to ensure that when you flip the switch or press the power button, they come on immediately. A good example of this might be your PC or gaming console downloading an update while in sleep mode. Understanding which devices around your home should be unplugged or stay plugged in can help you save on your energy costs all year round!
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Chargers
Most people are probably guilty of leaving their phone chargers plugged in, either by the nightstand or maybe on the counter. Whenever you're finished charging your phone, or when it reaches 100%, you should always unplug the charger.
Not only does leaving your phone charger plugged in slowly rack up unused energy costs, but if you're using a 3rd party charger it can also be a fire hazard.
TV and Entertainment Areas
The biggest energy waster in your home is typically your television or entertainment system set up. While these are perfectly fine additions to a living room or basement, they do not get used as often as you'd think.
If you are going out of town for the weekend or a week on vacation, unplug your entertainment system. This can do a small part on cutting down on energy costs – and can be easy to remember since most people switch off their air conditioners or heating systems when leaving town.
Small Kitchen Appliances
Aside from things like your refrigerator, oven, and dishwasher, most small kitchen appliances can and should be unplugged when not in use. Things such as your countertop griddle, air fryer, blender, and stand mixer should all be unplugged when not in use. Not only can you save a couple bucks on your energy bill, but you should always unplug devices you keep on your kitchen counter since they are so close to the sink.
Power Strips & Surge Protectors
Firstly, if you've already committed to using surge protectors to protect your devices, great job! Secondly, these are devices you want to leave plugged in. Surge protectors can help to reduce damage to your devices in the event of a surge or lightning strike. If your devices which consume a lot of energy are pulling power through your surge protector, you can use the switch on the surge protector to turn them off completely. If you have a smart surge protector this can be done via your smartphone too.
Want to know more about how you can use surge protectors in your home? Check out a previous post on our blog, or contact H&H Electric & Security today!
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