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News Release from: uSwitch | Subject: Insurance
Edited by the Insidemoneytalk Editorial Team on 24 October 2007

Britain's overcharged gadgets costing
the earth

Households in the UK now spend £1.9 billion a year on electricity just to power up their gadgets.

By 2020 personal gadgets will account for almost half (45%) of the electricity used in the home and will need the equivalent of 14 power stations just to keep them going [1] But, while advancements in consumer electronics are picking up pace, what about consumer behaviour? uSwitch.com looks at the impact Britain's digital dependency is having on consumers electricity bills and, more importantly, whether charge-up Britain; could be costing the Earth:Digital dependents: comfort charging of mobile phones accounts for at least 14.1 billion wasted energy hours a year [2] Midnight charger: Over nine million [3] households charge up their gadgets overnight Mobile madness: Over 22 million phones [4] needlessly being charged every day Standby state of the nation: 43% of consumers admit to leaving their television, digital TV set top (53%) and PC (40%) on constant standby [5] uSwitch.com urges consumers to adopt a charge-up conscience and turn the power off

Batteries not included may be the norm for many of today's electrical appliances but it seems consumers are racking up the watts and pennies by needlessly charging their gadgets for hours on end.

New research from uSwitch.com, the independent price comparison and switching service, has found that over a third of UK consumers (35%) regularly charge up their gadgets such as mobile phones, iPods and PDAs overnight while they sleep, accounting for an estimated 16.6 billion hours [6] of unnecessary energy usage over the course of a year.

Britain's digital dependency has led to consumers requiring gadgets to be in a permanent state of ever readiness.

There are around 63 million mobile phones being used in the country 2 to 3 in each household [1].

But as phones are now multi-purpose; functioning as a camera, to play games, play music, surf the internet people are increasingly unwilling to risk letting them run out of power.

As a result, they are indulging in damaging habits such as comfort charging.

Most mobile phones only require two hours charging yet 29% of people [5] admit to charging them for three to 24 hours a day.

However, 1.4 million households (5.43%) charge their phone all day every day [5] whether needed or not - accounting for approximately 11.3 billion wasted hours of energy each year [7].

It has been estimated that if all Britain's mobile phone users charged up their phone every night it would use up around 0.3 TWh of electricity per year [1].

This is 30,000 megawatts and, to put it into context, a large power station might have a power output of 500 2000 megawatts [10].Standby state.

But it's not just handheld gadgets.

Indeed, in households across the country up to twelve gadgets are left on standby or charging at any one time, emitting four million tonnes of excess CO2 a year and wasting more than £740 million annually [8].

Four in ten consumers currently admit to leaving their PC/laptop (40%) and TV (43%) on constant standby, while over half (53%) never switch the OFF button on their digital set top box [5].

Weight of numbersIf it was only a handful of gadgets and consumers then Britain would't need a charge-up conscience.

But the numbers speak for themselves [5]: 91% of households own at least one hairdryer almost a quarter (23%) own two.

Almost three quarters (72%) of homes own a set of hair straighteners, tongs or hot brushes 96% of homes own a PC or laptop and 65% have a printer.However, it is in the home entertainment sector that the ownership of gadgets really takes off.

While half of all households (49%) own a Hi-fi or stereo system, a quarter (24%) own two and just under one in ten (9%) own three.

This pattern is repeated with video and DVD equipment, but it is with television that Britain's love of gadgetry really shines.

The norm now is for homes to own two TV sets (29%), stretching to three in 25% of households and four in 17%.

In fact, 8% of homes even have five TVs.

It is estimated that by 2020 the consumer electronics sector andndash; including home entertainment equipment, computers and gadgets - will need the equivalent of 14 average sized power stations just to power them.

Total electricity consumption by these goods is predicted to reach 34 TWh per year, with TVs expected to account for around half [1].

Parental supervisionLearning good habits andndash; especially at a young age - is often a good start to ensuring a reduction in energy consumption.

And children clearly have a role to play.

Seven in ten children have their own TV while six in ten own a games console.

In fact, a report from a leading UK insurer suggests that a third of children have gadgets worth up to £2,000 in their bedrooms [9].

The potential for energy wastage is enormous making it even more important that parents instill a charge-up conscience in their children.

However, just one in ten parents (11%) limit their children to only charging up when they are around to supervise.

Worryingly, one in five parents (19%) place no limits, which means they are unlikely to know how long or how often their children charge their electrical equipment for [5].

It is estimated that not switching off the gadgets in a child's bedroom after use could cost £101 a year in wasted electricity.

However, if the child continues these habits into young adulthood and has the cash to indulge in new gadgets and the latest technology, this wastage could double to £219 per year [1].Ann Robinson, Director of Consumer Policy at uSwitch.com, says: Gadgets that were unheard of ten years ago are now seen as indispensible to modern day living.

The knock-on effect is that our demand for energy is growing as we plug-in and power up a myriad of gadgets and gismos.

But clearly this is coming at a cost and, with both household electricity bills and carbon emissions going up, the price may not be one we wish to pay.

Our behaviour has yet to catch up with technology.

We need to understand how to use our gadgets in a responsible and energy efficient way and learn to avoid wasting energy by leaving things needlessly charging-up or on stand-by.

Consumers also need to check that their home energy provider meets their household's needs today.

If you signed up to a plan 10 years ago will this still be the best one for you now, given how much your energy usage will have changed? As well as cheaper energy deals there are greener plans too, which might appeal to those who wish to assuage any gadget.

At the moment less than 1% (0.8%) of consumers in the UK are signed up to a green energy plan [10].

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