Electric bill myth busted - unplugging things actually saved me $12 this month

Matthew Kim · 2026-06-16T21:55:04.436669+00:00

I finally tested the old 'unplug your electronics to save money' thing after my wife kept hounding me for years. Plugged everything into a kill-a-watt meter first and found my ancient DVD player and phone chargers were pulling 8 watts even when 'off', a full $12.40 extra on my bill. Anybody else actually measure this stuff or just guess?

tyler63mo ago

Saw a YouTube video claiming the same thing - was about $10 for an old stereo.

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lisak263mo ago

Well, good on you for actually checking it with a meter.

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william_carter3mo ago

Read an article from Consumer Reports a while back that said most modern electronics barely use any power when off, but older stuff with those big power bricks can REALLY suck it down. Your DVD player is a perfect example of that, those things are notoriously bad even in standby mode. $12 a month adds up to over $140 a year, so your wife was definitely onto something with that hounding.

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