British Gas, OVO, EDF, Octopus customers have £200 added to bill thanks to TV 'mistake'

An energy expert says "zombie" appliances are "costing you £200 a year". British Gas, OVO, EDF, EON and Octopus customers are having £200 added to energy bills thanks to a little-known mistake they're making in their homes.

Mitchell Wray, of National Insulation Supplies,warned six ‘zombie’ appliances are adding £200 to bills: TVs, consoles, a cable box, microwave, coffee machine and also a Wi-Fi router.

Mitchell said: "TVs are the centre-piece of millions of living rooms up and down the country and the staple of most people’s Saturday nights in. However, leaving your telly on standby can cost you a whopping £60.27 a year! It may seem unnecessary, but the extra little bit of effort it takes to turn your TV off at the switch can save you a lot of money."

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Mitchell said: "It can be hard to tear teenagers away from their game consoles at times, but if you do manage to prise them off their Xbox or Playstation, then remind them to flick them off at the switch, as leaving your console on standby could be costing you around £30.13 annually."

Mitchell said: "Coffee makers have risen in popularity in recent years and although they are very convenient, they can be a real culprit for standby energy use. Leaving them plugged in with the clock or auto-shutoff features running can cost you around £15.05 a year."

Mitchell said: "No matter which set-top box you have decided to go for, it can prove extremely beneficial not to just leave them on standby each night. They may seem innocuous, but they can rack up a surprising standby cost of £45.20 a year. You may want to consider switching to a surge protector, so you can easily turn the whole lot off when not in use."

Mitchell said: "We are more reliant on Wi-Fi routers than ever before, and that isn’t about to change anytime soon. Yet they are a surprisingly costly appliance when it comes to standby energy use, costing roughly £36.16 a year if they are left on constantly. Many routers now come with a scheduling function, though, so you can set them to turn off during the night."

Mitchell said: "Almost everyone uses a microwave to varying degrees, especially if you are a fan of meal prepping, and that’s why they are left on standby so frequently. It might not be a huge amount, but microwaves can cost around £9.04 a year if they aren’t turned off properly. Every little bit helps, especially when bills are rising."