Put to the test: the cost of appliances left on standby

Ever wondered how much you could save by turning off your electrical appliances, rather than leaving them on standby?

Robin, a Performance Analyst from Karbon, decided to find out and was surprised by the results…

“Like everyone, I’ve been concerned about the increase in energy costs for my family and wondered how I could cut my usage. So, I decided to measure how much it was costing me to have devices on standby or permanently switched on in my home.

What I discovered

I was surprised to find 22 appliances are always on and running in the background of my home. Combined, these cost me £13 a month to run or £156 a year, based on September 2022 rates.

The top energy users were:

• Wifi router £29.76 per year
• Freeview box £22.08 per year
• Alexa device £14.40 per year

Changes I’m making

We’re regularly told to turn thermostats down and turn plugs off at the wall, but we probably don't really consider how much those background items cost us.

• The oven and microwave are now only switched on when we need them – I no longer have appliances telling me the time, just the kitchen clock.
• The toothbrush charger has been unplugged, the TV unit is switched off at the wall when it is not in use and the wifi router is now on a timer to be switched off during the night.

Overall, I estimate I could save approximately £104 a year doing these small changes.

Things to note

Everyone’s appliances are different. My router is four years old, for example, some new routers may be more energy efficient. All costs are estimates based on the current standard variable rate from my own supplier."