Households can lower their energy bills this winter by adjusting a single television setting, according to Money Saving Expert. With the Ofgem price cap for the average direct debit household currently at £1,723 annually, and energy analysts at Cornwall Insight forecasting a rise to £1,999 in January, many families are looking for ways to cut consumption.
The Government implemented a VAT reduction on electricity bills, yet the price cap still increased due to elevated wholesale costs fuelled by the conflict in the Middle East. For many families, minimising energy use wherever possible is essential, and straightforward changes to household appliances can help.
TV Settings That Reduce Energy Use
Money Saving Expert suggests that most modern televisions have special settings aimed at running as efficiently as possible. The typical cost to run a TV per hour is 0.79p, while a Sky Q box costs 1.18p and a PlayStation 5 costs 5p. British households spend approximately four hours daily watching television.
Most TVs feature power-saving options that modify screen brightness to lower energy consumption. If a television lacks that setting, users can manually reduce brightness and contrast levels. Switching the picture mode to the "standard" option represents the most energy-efficient setting. Certain televisions also have a sleep timer that powers down the TV after inactivity; this should be enabled as well.
Adjusting TV Boxes and Standby Mode
TV boxes can also be modified to reduce energy use. Many feature an eco mode setting. Sky Q boxes include an eco mode that shuts down the box between 2:30am and 5:45am. Virgin and BT offer comparable options, so users should search for the "eco" or "power saving" configurations.
Switching devices off rather than leaving them in standby is preferable, according to the Energy Saving Trust, which states households could save £45 annually by doing so. However, devices consume considerably less energy on standby than during active use. Under EU legislation, TVs and other devices manufactured after 2013 cannot use more than 0.5 watts in standby mode.
Money Saving Expert clarified: "For perspective, a TV left on standby for 20 hours a day would cost about £1 a year. Similarly, even power-hungry devices such as games consoles use only small amounts of energy while on standby." A PlayStation 5, for example, uses just 0.4 watts in standby mode, costing less than a penny if left on standby all day.
