Appliances left on standby waste €35m

HOUSEHOLD appliances left on standby are costing the Irish economy up to €35 million each year.

Tom Halpin of Sustainable Energy Ireland, who launched Energy Awareness Week in Dublin yesterday, said appliances left on standby are wasting 30 watts of electricity every hour.

“Over one year, that equates to the same amount of energy as 220 loads in the washing machine, or leaving a 60 watt bulb on constantly for 150 days,” he said.