‘Vampire electronics’ are estimated to be draining the equivalent of £1.6 billion by being left on standby, new research from British Gas has found.
The large retailer asked 2,000 people about how they use domestic electronic appliances.
It concluded that with its average customer electricity bill at £474.44 households could save an average of £75 per year by turning off their devices. This is equivalent to £1.6 billion nationally.
The research found that almost one in five (15 per cent) are unaware many household appliances use up electricity while not in use and more than two fifths (42 per cent) admit to only occasionally switching these appliances off.
Almost a third (29 per cent) said they wish they had known appliances were costing them money while on standby and almost seven in 10 (68 per cent) said they would switch off these appliances now they know they could save money.
Older people are more likely to switch off appliances to save money, with more than three quarters (77 per cent) of those aged 65 and over saying they would switch off appliances to save on bills, compared to just over half (54 per cent) of 18-24-year olds.
That said, 17 per cent said they will continue to leave appliances on standby when inactive despite the fact it could save them money and 42 per cent said this was because the effort of switching them off was not worth the saving.
Furthermore, 21 per cent said they would not do this because they do not care.
Responding to the report Marc Robson, smart energy expert at British Gas, said: “While colder weather and more time at home during this third national lockdown means a rise in bills is inevitable, there are some things we can do to reduce our energy usage at home which will really help the bank balance and the environment.
“Almost a third of total heating costs in the home are wasted through the roof and the walls and with vampire appliances, this figure is almost half of our electricity bills on wasted energy.
“Just switching some of these off can really help save straight away and those with a smart meter will be able to see the impact of this in real time. Turn it down or turn it off is a great motto for fighting the vampires.”