It turns out everyone who ever fretted about turning off every single light when you leave a room was right – leaving just the odd electrical item on overnight could add a significant amount to yearly bill.
The cost of living crisis and the current sky-high energy bills mean paying even a little more for our electricity is something no-one wants to do right now.
But, we hate to break it you, leaving just one 100W bulb on overnight could cost you a total of £111.17 in the current economy, if left on for nine hours a night.
That’s according to new findings from lighting experts at Value Lights. Their research also found around 11% of the average UK household’s energy bills is spent on lighting alone.
These findings are particularly surprising, considering heating and kitchen appliances are usually considered the main culprits behind our ever-growing bills – looks like we should all be looking at the “phantom load” (appliances’ standby mode) instead.
Value Lights also found that one 60W bulb can cost £65.75 a year if left on every night – that’s the standard bulb often found in bedside lamps, so one to watch if you find yourself dozing off while reading before bed.
It’s not all bad news though – if you can’t sleep without a light one, one one LED 5W bulb should cost you just £5.59 if you leave it on all year round.
Luckily, a TV on standby (because who actually remembers to switch it off at the wall?) costs significantly less – around £1.45.
Meanwhile, a modern computer on standby costs £5.59, an audio system £9.09, a microwave £3.35, and an Xbox Series X £8.27.
These numbers may all look pretty low right now, it’s worth noting that bills are expected to get even steeper come April when the UK Government pulls back on in its energy price guarantee.
Head of Buying at Value Lights, Julia Barnes, also explained that you can work out how much each of your appliances uses in terms of electricity by converting the wattage into kilowatts.
So, the 100W bulb needs 0.1kW an hour. The current rate means this would cost you 34p an hour. Multiple that by nine hours (for 11pm to 6am, for instance) and 365.25 days, you get £111.77.
If you want to cut down, you could also choose a lower wattage for your lamps, because it will reduce how much electricity it uses, install a dimmer switch (this has the same effect) or check the efficiency ratings for each bulb. Ranked A to G, those near the top of the alphabet are more energy efficient and therefore better for your bank balance.