Pulling the power plug on vacation: does this really save money?
Before you go on vacation, you should at least pull the plug from the power guzzlers in your house. In this practical tip, we explain which devices can save you how much money if you pull the plug for the time of your vacation.
Pulling the power plug on vacation: does this really save money?
Many electrical devices also consume electricity when they are not really switched on. Before you go on vacation, you should therefore unplug them to save money.
- In general, the older an electrical device, the greater the power consumption in standby. A DSL router, for example, consumes about 10 watts in standby. With an electricity price of 28 cents per kilowatt hour, this results in a price of one euro for two weeks. The situation is similar with a television (about 5 watts), a stereo system (about 5 watts) or a PC (about 10 watts). Leaving all these electrical devices on standby during a two-week vacation will result in an avoidable electricity price of around 3 euros.
- You should also unplug your fridge and freezer while on vacation. Defrost the refrigerator beforehand so that mold does not form on the inside. Depending on the device, you can save between one and five euros in two weeks.
- You should be careful with electric water boilers. You should unplug smaller boilers. With larger devices, switching off is only worthwhile if you are away for more than a week. The power consumption when heating up is otherwise higher than that for keeping the heat.
On the next page we explain how you measure the power consumption of your refrigerator.