Trick or Treat?
We've highlighted some very easy ways to cut the vampire energy being ghosted away. With winter approaching, we are helping our customers to save energy and reduce their energy bills with some simple energy busting tips. It’s time to blitz the energy bill," said Doug Stewart, CEO, Green Energy UK.
According to the Energy Saving Trust, up to £80 a year is wasted in the average home by leaving household appliances, such as TVs, on standby. That's a lot of wasted electricity, especially when you consider that making just a few small changes could make all the difference.
An increasing number and variety of consumer devices incorporate standby features. Often a device is in standby mode when the consumer thinks it is completely powered-down. Placing the power switch in the OFF position does not guarantee that a device consumes no power. The only way to be sure a device is not drawing power is to unplug it from the wall.
Hunting down those vampire products
Televisions tuners and games consoles are now the mainstay of a family’s home entertainment, but when left on permanent standby they are costing families £45-80 a year.
TVs, cordless phones, computers and laptops, scanners, microwave ovens, electric clocks, mobile phones, followed by games consoles are all devices to hunt down for their vampire energy consuming habits. Games consoles are particularly bad - they remain in idle mode when they're not in use, consuming almost the same power as when you are gaming. Perhaps it's not surprising given the numbers who play computer games, even when they are out trick or treating!
How to be an energy buster
Fortunately there are a number of products available to help cut down your standby electricity consumption.
• Standby savers that allow you to easily turn all of your appliances off from standby
without having to reach for the plug.
• Use a switchable power strip to pull the plug on clusters of computer or video products.
• Buy low standby products if you can find them by looking for the energy rating of the
product marked with an A plus - http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/domestic/home-
appliances.
• Buy a low-cost watt-meter, to measure the devices in your home and take targeted action.
• Laptops are more energy efficient than desktop computers, but a mistake many people
make is charging them unnecessarily, or leaving them constantly on charge.
• The same thing often happens with your mobile phone too. On average they take two
hours to charge, but many people leave them on charge overnight, wasting electricity in
the process.
So there you go, don’t be afraid of no ghosts! Bust those energy-sucking vampires, and treat yourself to lower energy bills. It’s good for the planet, and great for your pocket.
