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Refrigerator and freezer – there’s not much to explain here. Turn them off and get ready to throw out the food.
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Security systems – if you have them, keep them on at all times. Security is not something you should skimp on.
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Smart thermostats – turn them off and one day you’ll return to an icy apartment.
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Medical devices – If someone close to you requires medical devices to maintain their health, these items should always be connected.
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Three devices in the apartment that should never be unplugged. And here’s why
You know, I used to be quite paranoid about electrical safety and saving. When leaving the house, I would carefully unplug all the cords from the sockets, especially if I was going to the country or visiting friends for the weekend. Well, who knew that this approach could sometimes turn into a not-so-pleasant surprise? At one point, I realized that not all devices should be disconnected. Now I am sharing my experience with you – and perhaps I will save you not only nerves, but also money.
1. TV
When I finally decided to splurge on a new OLED TV, my first thought was, “I want this beauty to last me twenty years.” And, of course, to “extend” its lifespan, I started turning it off at night – I thought it would do it good. If only I had known…
It turns out that OLED screens are quite delicate devices, and they need time to refresh their pixels. If this process is interrupted, the screen begins to « burn out », and soon the owner gets a picture quality that is far from what he paid for.
In addition, most modern TVs update at night. This is easy to track by the red button, if it starts blinking, it is better not to touch the TV. So now it is always connected to the socket, and there are no problems.
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2. Inkjet printer
I bought a good printer a couple of years ago. I’ll be honest – I don’t use it that often. Every time I finished printing, the first thing I did was pull out the cord. Well, why keep it on if I’m not printing? It seemed like a great idea until I noticed that the ink was running out quickly.
The problem turned out to be simple: when you pull the plug, the print head does not go into the correct standby mode, and every time you turn on the printer, it starts a cleaning cycle, eating up the ink. So now I don’t unplug it, but simply turn it off with a button – and the ink, oddly enough, lasts longer.
3. Wi-Fi router
The router is a whole other story. I used to turn it off at night, thinking that I was saving both electricity and the Internet itself (there was no unlimited tariff back then). But one day I woke up early, urgently needed to send an email to work, and the router decided to « sleep » a little longer. The Internet took so long to connect that I was almost late sending important documents.
Since then, I realized that a stable connection is not a luxury, but a necessity, especially if you have smart gadgets at home, like me: lamps, cameras, all tied to the Internet. Now the router works around the clock – and I sleep peacefully.
Other devices that are best left unplugged
Of course, you need to save electricity, but in moderation. Now I try to turn off only those devices that are not harmed by it. What do you turn off when you leave? Share your tricks – I will be happy to read your advice.
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