Why you should turn off lights, phone chargers, electronic equipment when not in use

Every light or electric gadget left on when not needed is wasting energy and money and is causing pollution that is totally unnecessary.

The average Australian household wastes or overuses as much as 20% of the electricity we pay for, which could be costing you over $400 a year in a mid-sized home, and a lot more in a big household.

Stand-by power can use up to 8% of a household's total electricity. For most homes a 10% reduction in electricity consumption can save $200 a more a year off our electricity bill and nearly ¾ of a tonne of CO2 pollution. A 20% reduction on average consumption will save over $400 and over 1.5 tonnes of CO2.

Don't forget to power down these things when not in use:

• Lights
• Heaters and fans (or air-conditioning)
• Printers and scanners
• Battery and phone chargers
• Computers
• Gaming consoles
• TVs, DVD players
• Stereos
• Kitchen gadgets such as blenders, kettles, toasters etc.

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How to get your friends and family involved:

1. Talk to everyone in your household about the cost, waste and pollution that occurs when lights and gadgetry (such as gaming consoles and computers) are left on when not needed. Take time to share what you're learning and why action is important.

2. Show children what they need to do to turn off gaming consoles and other equipment they use. Get to understand their behaviour (e.g. Are they worried about saving their games? Or just don't know any better?) and help them to see why it's so important.

3. You can put stickers around the home with messages like 'switch me off' for lights and 'am I on?' for gadgets. Be creative! Make it fun and educational!

What's your top tip for saving energy around your home? Let us know in the comments below!

Images: Shutterstock

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