Sneaky consumption: sneaky energy guzzlers in the home

Bulbs that accidentally stay on too long, appliances that are always on standby or an old humming fridge: paying for energy you don't actually need is a real waste. Energy expert Eloïse van Rijswijk of EnergyFlip shares especially for readers of thegreenlist.nl tips to tackle stealth consumption. Also open the hunt for home energy sneaks! This is a sustainable action that will save you a lot of money every month (especially with the high energy prices).

Do you know this about stealth?

In partnership with EnergyFlip

‘Suppose you park your car out front, go to sleep and get back in the car the next day. How would you feel if your car consumed eight litres of petrol... While you were sleeping? In fact, this happens every day in your house! Just like a car, a house consumes energy. However the big difference is, if you don't use the car, it doesn't consume anything either. But your house does, and some of it is not needed. Quite a shame, because you are therefore just paying for that unnecessary gas and electricity.’

Rest consumption versus stealth consumption

‘Rest consumption is the energy consumption of your home after you have turned everything off. Think of your energy consumption at night or during holidays. It is the energy needed to run your home at night. Think of your fridge, freezer, central heating and/or boiler. On average, rest consumption accounts for 8% of a Dutch family's total energy consumption. That will cost you an average of one hundred to three hundred euros a year. And with current (and rising) energy prices, this amount is only going to increase. But there is often something else in that idle consumption, and that is called stealth consumption. Think of lamps that are accidentally left on, appliances that always remain on standby out of convenience, or an old fridge or freezer without an energy label that consumes energy unnecessarily. By detecting unnecessary standby consumption, you can bring down your idle consumption. This is not only sustainable, but also a smart thing to do. You can save a lot of money every month, especially now with current energy prices.‘ How can you detect and tackle energy guzzlers?

Characteristics of energy guzzlers

Appliances that secretly consume energy, how do you recognise them? The consumer collective United Consumers has compiled a handy list so you can spot these energy guzzlers faster:

• Stealth consumers have a standby light that comes on when you turn off the device.
• Stealth consumers often have a display showing a time of day or other information.
• When not switched on, you will still hear a sound and heat is released.
• Sneaky consumers are electronic devices with an external power supply such as an adapter or cable.
  
  

Tracking creeping consumption is how you do it

• That extra (old) fridge or freezer you have in the shed. Especially if it also has a poor energy label.
• That old lamp from grandma that still has an incandescent or halogen bulb in it. Replace them with LED bulbs and you'll reduce the consumption of that bulb by 85%.
• Your underfloor heating's pump. Without a switch, an old pump runs continuously, while a new pump with a switch runs only when needed.
• A Jacuzzi in the garden. Lovely! But oef, heating it 24 hours a day... And then there's the filter pump that comes with it....
• Tropical aquariums or terrariums. Again, the following applies: 24-hour heating... Do the math!
• Waterbed, same story.
• Garden lights without solar power or without an adjusted timer are often left on unnecessarily for too long.
  
  

Eloïse: ‘It is not easy to see exactly where your stealth consumption is. The energy flows in your home are invisible. This is where the value of good monitoring comes in, because measuring is knowing! With good monitoring, it's easier to find out which appliances and power users are on (unnecessarily) and reduce your stealth consumption. The EnergyFlip energy consumption manager can help. With this handy meter box in the meter box and accompanying app, you can actively and live looking for the biggest standby consumers. Is someone turning on grandma's old floor lamp? Then you will see the consumption rise immediately in your app and you can immediately see whether you are dealing with a sneak consumer or an energy guzzler.

Using the box and the app, you learn to use less energy, and what you don't use you don't have to pay for, of course. EnergyFlip users, for instance, have already saved an average of about 150 euros in the first year, partly due to the insight into standby consumers.’

Tracking standby consumption with EnergyFlip.

Preventing and reducing creeping consumption

Now that you know where your creeping consumption is coming from, you can take action. Have you identified which appliances are consuming unnecessarily thanks to the app? Then you can do the following:

• From now on, use the actual off button and avoid the standby button.
• Unplug chargers after use, such as phone, tablet, game and toothbrush chargers.
• Invest in a saver plug between the socket and the appliance, a saver plug will switch off the appliance completely.
• See if you can change your devices' settings. Maybe the device has an eco mode, check what happens in the app when you turn on the eco mode.
• Switch appliances that belong together, such as the computer or TV corner, to one socket with an on/off switch.
• If you have an old fridge, freezer, oven, washing machine or dryer: save up for a new, energy-efficient one. With current energy prices, you'll have your investment paid off within a year (sometimes even six months).
  
  

Do you also want more control over your stealth consumption?

After reading these tips, do you think you are dealing with stealth consumption and want to do something about it with the help of EnergyFlip? With the discount code GREENLIST10, you get a temporary 10% discount when you buy the supplies. All devices can be ordered online in the webshop of EnergyFlip. The box costs 99 euros, the solar extension kit costs 55 euros. If you have an analogue or digital meter, you will also need sensors (9.95 euros). These costs do not include installation work, for which you will have to ask an installer separately (the discount code does not apply here, of course). If you don't need an expansion set sun, then you don't need an installer.

More sustainable tips from thegreenlist.nl

• Also see: handy tips to start reducing your gas consumption today.
• Also see: passive cooking, the trick to saving energy while cooking.
• Also see: Q&A with EnergyFlip, everything you need to know about saving energy at home.
• Also see: OM | Nieuwe Energie: one of the greenest energy suppliers in the Netherlands
  
  

Photo credits: Charlotte May (Pexels), Elviss Railijs Bitāns (Pexels).