UK households with 'big TVs' urged to 'unplug them' over Christmas

UK households with big TVs have been urged to unplug them over Christmas. TVs these days often switch to standby mode without us realising. TV fans have been warned most modern TVs can't be switched off without being unplugged or turned off at the wall.

It means that unless your TV is unplugged or completely switched off at the wall, it's likely costing you throughout the year - including over the festive season, when it's on standby while you dine in your dining room or in your open-plan kitchen.

Even more worryingly, the size of your TV can significantly impact your energy bills - so a 65 inch TV costs more to run than a 55 inch TV. UK households this festive season could save an average of £147 per year by switching off so-called vampire devices, British Gas research released previously suggests.

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The Energy Saving Trust (EST) said consumers need to consider which devices they leave switched on. "Stats or prices related to individual appliances depend on several factors, including model, functionality and individual usage," it said.

Brian Horn, Senior Insight and Analytics consultant at the EST, said there were practical things consumers could do. "If something doesn't need to be on, then you should switch it off at the wall or unplug it," he said. "Everything else, just try and make it as easy as possible to turn it off.

"If you make sure that the plug is accessible, if you can just switch it off, so you don't need to unplug it. But if you've got a whole bunch of things plugged in behind your television, you maybe want to plug them all into one extension lead."

British Gas used average costs of wattage from different manufacturers' average models when left on standby to calculate its figures.