With energy bills rising at an unprecedented rate, it makes sense to do everything you can to try and keep them as low as possible.
Some people are sitting in the dark, using their heating as little as possible, and limiting time spent watching TV or playing video games.
However, what many people don't realise is that unless appliances are turned off completely, they will still cost you money.
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Putting appliances on standby mode can be significantly more costly than you realise, according to new data.
Although the figures may seem small, they quickly add up and over the year could end up costing you hundreds of pounds.
As reported by the Manchester Evening News, research from electricity and gas supplier Utilita has revealed there are 10 items in the average UK household that are left plugged in and switched off despite not being used.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the worst offenders are TVs and games consoles, which add a significant chunk to your energy bills over
the course of a year.
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Additionally, an estimated 30% of UK homes have items left on standby that haven't been used in a year.
Archie Lasseter, sustainability lead at Utilita, said: “Standby mode is a real energy drainer – some items use the same amount of energy as when they’re switched on.
“In each home, leaving just one TV on standby can waste up to £16 of electricity a year, which is a staggering £432 million for all UK households.”
The seven most-costly appliances to leave on standby
Xbox and Playstation
While enjoyable to play, a games console becomes significantly less fun when you realise just how much they could add by the end of the year.
According to Utilita, a Playstation costs 2.41p per hour played, and an Xbox 2.22p - this is because they use 130 and 120 watts respectively when in use.
When left on standby, the consoles still use 10 watts, meaning even when not in use they're costing 0.18p per hour. While seemingly insignificant, it works out at 4.45p a day, equating to £16.24 a year.
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TV
It's very easy these days for our TV's to switch to standby mode without us being able to do much about it. Back in the day, your buttons were on the TV and off meant off, however, today the remote tends to only use standby mode,
This means that unless your TV is off at the wall, it's probably costing you a pretty penny throughout the year.
Utilita states a TV uses 40 watts of energy while in use, but much like the consoles, it uses 10 watts when sitting on standby.
That means, for five hours of watching it's costing around 3.7p, but even if it's left untouched all day but in standby, you're still paying 4.45p a day.
Over the year this amounts to £16.24.
Printer
Our printers have a sneaky habit of sitting out of sight and out of mind, unless you need it at a specific moment.
While tucked away and out of use, it might be worth unplugging it, as this is third on the list for standby costs.
Like a TV, a printer uses around 40 watts of energy in use, and when still left on standby it continues to eat up 4 ways.
By the end of the day, this totals 1.78p, equating to £6.50 a year unnecessary added to your bills.
Baby monitor
It's universally known that babies are expensive to raise, so make sure you're not making life any more difficult for yourself.
Of course, it's needed when your baby is sleeping, but when your baby is with you and awake, it may be worth switching off your baby monitor completely.
On average, a baby monitor uses around 15 watts of energy when in use, and 3 watts when on standby. Over a year, that's an extra £4.87 on your energy bill.
Laptop
With so many of us moving to home/hybrid working, our laptops have become a critical part of our everyday lives.
Utilita says running a laptop for five hours will cost around 6.95p as the device uses about 75 watts of energy.
Make sure your laptop is unplugged when fully charged and switch it off when you're finished, rather than just closing the lid.
While the device will only use around 3 watts of energy in standby mode, leaving on idle mode can cost an extra 1.33p a day, adding up to £4.87 over 12 months.
Smart speaker
Smart speakers are undeniably handy when in the home, you can check the time, set alarms, check the weather, and stream music.
While in use a smart speaker will only need about 3 watts of energy, however on standby that barely changes, dropping to 2 watts.
This means over the year it can add an extra £3.45 to your bill - and that's just per speaker!
Phone charger
Most of us are guilty of using when we sleep to charge our phones, meaning it may be charging for longer than necessary.
It's definitely not the biggest cost per year, but a phone will add an extra 32p to your bill, not including the energy you use while actually charging, so try and think ahead when finding a convenient time to charge your mobile.
