We charge our laptops and phones every day, sometimes more than once. It’s so normalised, yet most of us don’t know how much it costs. But as the cost of living continues to rise, the price of charging your electronic devices will increase.
Currently, the cost of electricity is 28p per kWh, according to Ofgem which is set to go up to 52p in October under the new energy prise cap. The “recommended” time we should spend charing our phone every day is two hours and 40 minutes. This means that currently, it should cost the average person just 85p per year to charge their phone, according to Uswitch.
But if you leave your phone to charge for longer, that price will increase further. Laptops obviously need more power to run ,so the annual cost of charging your laptop is £12.26 per year.
But these prices will go up after the new price cap is implemented after October. Ofgem, the UK’s energy regulator, previously revealed that the average energy bill would be hiked by more than 80% in the autumn – Liz Truss has since announced a government rescue package, meaning typical households will pay no more than £2,500 per year.
The price cap was originally designed to protect customers from short-term price spikes. The latest rise will come into effect on October 1 and remain in place until December 31 when it will be adjusted again.
British Gas carried out research this year which found that households in the UK are spending £2.2 billion a year by keeping certain electrics on standby rather than turning them off at night or when they’re leaving the house.
This averages to £147 a year for a regular British household which is the equivalent of two months of electricity bills. This means your smart speakers, laptops and internet routers will cost you more if you’re leaving them to charge overnight.
Leaving a games console on standby averages out to £12.17, whilst computers can cost you around £11.22, the research found. So, it might be best to switch those off when you’re done using them as well.
Even if you’re only saving a few pounds, turning off these devices can save you some money.
