12 bad energy habits that are adding a £117 to your bills

Bad habits around the home risk costing households as much as £117 a year in higher energy bills, it is claimed. Simple things like leaving the lights on or running the hot tap while washing up all generate extra costs which can quickly add up. Research by price comparison website Uswitch.

com found nearly every UK household (96 percent) admits to having at least one bad energy habit – such as overfilling the kettle or leaving lights on. Uswitch said: “There are big potential savings on the costs of running kitchen appliances like washing machines, dishwashers, and tumble dryers, which are among the most energy-consuming devices in UK households.” The extra annual cost of energy bad habits Energy habit Proportion that do this Cost per household Use the tumble dryer when it’s a hot day outside 42% £26.



54 Let the hot shower run while you’re not in it 39% £19.41 Run the washing machine at 40°C or more 67% £16.76 Run the tumble dryer when it’s not full 48% £15.

92 Let the hot/warm tap keep running while washing up 52% £10.40 Leave lights on when not in the room 58% £7.82 Run the dishwasher when it’s not full 45% £7.

54 Run the washing machine when it’s not full 50% £6.80 Leave TV on when nobody is watching it 47% £1.61 Leave the fridge door open for longer than needed 36% £1.

59 Leave my phone charging when it’s reached max battery 71% £1.50 Leave gadgets on standby 73% £1.40 Source: Uswitch.

com USwitch said that some two-thirds of people (67 percent) set their washing machine at temperatures above 40oC – costing an extra £17 a year, and half (50 percent) run it when it’s not full – costing nearly £7 more a year. More than half (52 percent) of households leave the hot tap running while washing up - pouring £10 down the drain each year. And more than two in three (71 percent) leave mobile phones plugged in when fully charged, and nearly half (47 percent) leave the TV on when no one is watching.

Running the dishwasher when it’s not full adds an average of nearly £8 a year to energy bills – while not using the appliance’s eco mode could also increase costs by £16[3]. Households that leave the hot tap running while doing the washing up are pouring more money down the drain. A running hot tap can waste 100 litres in just ten minutes, also wasting 20p in energy costs.

Households that do this one a week could run up an additional £10 a year. Nearly 20 million households admit leaving the TV on when no one is watching, potentially adding £1.61 a year to bills, while nearly three-fifths (58 percent) leave the lights on when no one is in the room, which could add nearly £8 to annual bills.

Leaving devices on standby is the most common bad habit, with 73 percent of households saying they do this. Elise Melville, energy expert at Uswitch.com, comments: “Energy bills are on the rise as winter arrives, so now is a good time to think about improving your energy habits to save money.

Occasionally leaving the lights on or overfilling the kettle could be forgiven now and then, but if these bad habits are the norm, you could be adding hundreds to your energy bill unnecessarily. “The biggest energy guzzlers in the home usually involve heating water, so consider using the eco mode on white goods and running them only when full to keep costs down.” The free Uswitch app, lets consumers with a smart meter track and reduce their power use to help cut down their energy bills.

Households without a smart meter can use the Uswitch energy efficiency guides to reduce their power use and their energy bill..