Households looking to reduce energy costs this winter can make a simple TV setting change that cuts power consumption, with energy bills expected to rise further in January.
The Ofgem price cap for a typical household paying by direct debit is currently £1,723 a year. Energy analysts at Cornwall Insight predict this could rise to £1,999 in January. The government introduced a VAT cut on electricity bills, but the price cap still rose due to higher wholesale costs driven by the war in the Middle East.
Adjust TV brightness to save energy
Money Saving Expert recommended making a slight adjustment to TVs. According to the consumer advice site, the average cost to run a TV per hour is 0.79p. A Sky Q box can cost 1.18p, and a PlayStation 5 can cost 5p.
UK households spend around four hours a day watching TV on average. The experts said: "All that viewing uses a lot of energy, but most TVs these days have special settings aimed at making them run as efficiently as possible."
Most TVs have power-saving settings that adjust screen brightness to reduce power consumption. Selecting this button lowers the amount of energy used by the TV. If the TV does not have that setting, brightness and contrast can be lowered manually. Changing the picture mode to the "standard" option is the most energy-efficient setting.
Use eco mode on TV boxes
Some TVs have a sleep timer that turns the TV off when idle for a set time, and households are advised to switch this on. TV boxes also offer energy-saving options. Many have an eco mode setting.
Sky Q boxes have an eco mode that powers down the box between 2:30am and 5:45am. Virgin and BT also have similar options, so users should look for the "eco" or "power saving" settings.
Standby mode savings
Turning off devices instead of leaving them on standby is better. According to the Energy Saving Trust, households can save £45 a year by turning devices off standby. However, devices use much less energy on standby than when in use.
Under EU law, TVs and other devices made after 2013 cannot use more than 0.5 watts in standby mode. Money Saving Expert explained: "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 (assuming it's not downloading any updates or charging controllers). This would cost less than a penny if left on standby all day."
