HEATING BILLS are falling for the summer months, but your house still consumes more energy than it needs to if everything stays on standby. It may only be a few pence a day, but it mounts up for umpteen electrical items each year.
We’re used to the ‘turn off the lights’ mantra, but you could save up to £70 a year by switching things off at the socket, not by the ‘not really off’-button. There isn’t a sane ‘average saving’ figure, as it depends upon the number of units and their age, but last year (before all the rises in costs) Ovo energy reckoned the average was £40 per household. Another survey of UK households found an average of ten items on standby that hadn’t been used for a year!
Look round the house and garage/shed, focusing first on the big users: TVs, game consoles, loudspeakers, computers and monitors. Is the convenience of 24hr standby worth the cost, or could it be switched off for most of each day/week? Of course, it may not be easy to switch things off as the remote control puts things on standby and the power point may be tucked inside a cupboard!
Finally, think about your charging habits. Are you charging your phone/laptop, removing the charger when the battery is at 100% and then using the unit until it asks for recharging? Or is it constantly being charged for no purpose other than to reduce the battery life and cost you money?
