Gamers Being Urged To Turn Off Their "Vampire" Consoles

If you live in the UK, it's been hard to avoid the drastic rise in the cost of living. Energy is one of the largest reasons for that, with prices soaring after the government raised the price cap on energy by 54%.

This means the average household is now paying ₤1,971 per year on gas and electricity, up from ₤1,277. Don’t worry though if you don’t know how you’re going to make up the extra ₤693, because British Gas is here to save the day. No, parent company Centrica isn't thinking of dipping into their reported ₤948 million in profits in order to prevent fuel poverty in the UK. Instead it has suggested that we stop leaving things such as consoles and laptops on standby, claiming these “vampire devices” cost the UK ₤2.2 billion a year in wasted energy.

If you are still confused by the energy price cap rise then let our boy Martin Lewis the money saving expert explain it to you.

In the article, British Gas claims that turning off your electronics at the mains could save you ₤147 a year. Leaving aside the fact that this is a fifth of what prices have risen by, the maths just doesn’t work out. 

As reported by Eurogamer, a number of responses have come in to counter the statistics in the article. One response to the article cites a law that was brought in by the European Commission in 2013. "This [article] is factually incorrect and is shameless scaremongering by British Gas. TVs have been required by law to use 0.5 Watts or less per hour in standby since 2013. That's 4.38kW per year. With electricity at 30p/kW, it will cost £1.31 per year. Saying it costs £24.61 is a lie." 

Radio presenter Ross Buchanan also weighed in with his thoughts "This is 'have you tried just putting on a jumper' but for the warmer months. Shifting the responsibility of rising bills onto the consumer rather than the government or the energy companies is pretty tasteless regardless of whether your 'research' is accurate (it's not)."