Leaving appliances on standby 'can cost UK households up to £86 a year'

via guardian.co.uk

Losing money while you sleep is easy, according to a new study which has found that leaving our everyday appliances on "standby" costs UK households between £50 and £86 a year on average.

Televisions, satellite boxes and other video and audio equipment are the worst offenders, but people are increasingly leaving computers, mobile phones and other appliances from washing machines to dishwashers on standby, where an appliance appears to be off but is still using energy.

Standby use accounts for about 9% to 16% of the average electricity bill of £530 a year and is helping to push the UK's electricity use upwards, but with little benefit to consumers, according to a new study called Powering the Nation, from the Energy Saving Trust (EST).

Turning off equipment left idling on standby could be a quick and cheap way for people to start shaving pounds from their energy bills, according to the EST, helping to combat fuel poverty and cut unnecessary carbon emissions.