Even when they’re switched off, many household devices continue using electricity through what’s known as “phantom energy” or standby power. While one device may use only a small amount, dozens of always-plugged-in electronics can quietly increase your electricity bill over time.<\/p>\n
One of the biggest offenders is your phone charger<\/strong>. Even without a phone attached, it still draws a small amount of power. Unplugging it after charging is a simple money-saving habit.<\/p>\n Coffee makers<\/strong> with digital clocks or programmable timers also consume electricity around the clock just to keep their displays active.<\/p>\n Toasters and toaster ovens<\/strong> with electronic controls continue using standby power and can also pose a safety risk if left plugged in unnecessarily.<\/p>\n Your TV, gaming console, and entertainment system<\/strong> often stay in “instant-on” mode, constantly waiting for remote commands. A smart power strip can automatically cut power when they’re not in use.<\/p>\n Finally, desktop computers and accessories<\/strong> like monitors, printers, and speakers may continue drawing electricity even after shutdown, while also remaining vulnerable to power surges.<\/p>\n Of course, refrigerators, freezers, medical equipment, and security systems should remain plugged in.<\/p>\n Making a habit of unplugging unused electronics\u2014or using smart power strips\u2014can reduce wasted energy, lower your electricity bill, protect valuable devices, and give you greater control over your home’s power consumption.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Even when they’re switched off, many household devices continue using electricity through what’s known as “phantom energy” or standby power. While one device may use only a small amount, dozens of always-plugged-in electronics can quietly increase your electricity bill over time. One of the biggest offenders is your phone charger. Even without a phone attached, …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9272,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9271","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/lifestorybuffering.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/23fcca93-cd56-458b-b424-9c0587889398.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifestorybuffering.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9271","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifestorybuffering.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifestorybuffering.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifestorybuffering.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifestorybuffering.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9271"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lifestorybuffering.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9271\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9273,"href":"https:\/\/lifestorybuffering.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9271\/revisions\/9273"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifestorybuffering.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9272"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifestorybuffering.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9271"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifestorybuffering.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9271"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifestorybuffering.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9271"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}