42% of adults leave appliances on standby
Published On 23 October 2006
New research has shown that over four in ten adults (42 per cent) admit to leaving their appliances on standby or never switching them off at the wall socket. Some 9.4 million people also admit to not being energy efficient while leaving appliances on standby can use as much as 60 per cent of the electricity the devices uses when it is switched on, according to the study.
The figures by moneysupermarket.com tie in with Energy Saving Week, which runs between October 23rd and October 29th.
Over half of us (53 per cent) believe the government should take an active role in forcing manufacturers to become green.
Top energy saving tips revealed by the study include investing in a lagging jacket, replacing light bulbs with energy saving light bulbs and turning down your thermostat by one degree, which could cut your heating bills by up to ten per cent.
Paul Schofield, moneysupermarket.com spokesman, said: "The 'big six' energy providers have introduced over a dozen price hikes so far this year and as a result, green electricity tariffs are now more in-line with standard 'non-green' deals.
"Being energy efficient doesn't mean taking drastic action such as installing a wind turbine in the garden; it can be as simple as switching appliances off fully instead of leaving them on standby or swapping to a green electricity supplier.
"Not only could you be saving the environment, but saving money on energy bills as well."
