Standby for ways to waste money in the home
Wednesday, 14 September 2011
2:39 PM
Six out of ten Brits are wasting money by leaving their TVs, computers and other electrical items in their home on standby, according to new research by uSwitch.
The price comparison and switching service says that as energy bills reach new highs, 52 per cent of consumers say they sometimes leave their electrical items on standby and another 10 per cent say they always do.
The biggest culprits are set-top boxes, which 59 per cent of people admit to leaving on standby at least occasionally. That’s followed by 50 per cent who leave their TV on standby and 28 per cent who leave their games console switched on even when they’re not using it.
Although leaving a mobile phone to charge overnight uses as much energy as watching a week of TV, more than half of us do it.
Kevin Sears, energy efficiency expert at uSwitch.com, said: "In the face of rising energy bills and our increasing love affair with gadgets, consumers can no longer afford to throw money away by wasting energy. Being more energy efficient is a simple and painless way to cut your bills, which many will be worried about this winter.”
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