Standby savings – environmental case study

We’re often given advice to turn off electrical equipment at the wall, with promises of big savings. But how much could it really save?

Our Eco Lifestyle Coordinator Jen used a smart meter to take readings for how a house would ordinarily be left overnight. She compared that with having just the really useful stuff switched on at the wall.

You can’t switch off the fridge freezer overnight, and charging a phone through the day shifts the power use without reducing it much. There may also be a few sockets that are awkward enough to reach that you’re risking injury doing so.

Jen found that the total power saving for the house she was measuring was 22w. Multiplied up by 8 hours a night, 365 nights a year, and the current unit price, that’s equivalent to £18 per year saving. Not quite the £55 suggested by the Energy Saving Trust, but perhaps it’s already an efficient household?

If you have a smart meter, you can do your own audit to work out what your savings could be. If you find there are sockets with a lot of things left plugged in that are hard to get to, you could consider investing in a standby saver, which will cut power easily and safely.

If you don’t have a smart meter, ask your electricity company – they should come and fit one for free.

You can download the full case study below.