Save at least £120 a year by just unplugging these eight appliances

Televisions and games consoles are among the worst offenders for eating up your cash when they are doing nothing

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If you are looking to save cash on your electricity bill, it's time to turn detective and snoop around your appliances.

By simply switching everything off at the wall, you could save yourself at least £120 a year.

If you leave a device plugged in and switched on, even if it's not in use, it will still use electricity. This is why you should switch off the object at the plug socket, so electrical current is unable to flow.

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So it's worth going around your home before bedtime to check everything that can be switched off has been.

Building and construction expert Thomas Goodman from MyJobQuote has worked out how much leaving appliances on standby could increase your energy bills by, and here we have a look at eight of the most common objects that are left to silently eat power overnight.

1. TVs

Topping the list of shame are televisions.

More than 98% of UK households admit to leaving their TV on standby all the time - switching off via the remote control but leaving the set switched on at the plug.

Make the extra effort and you could save up to £30 per year per set. If you have two or more TVs, the savings soon add up.

2. T V boxes and recorders

Staying in the same area, a staggering 86% of households admit to leaving their TV boxes and recorders on at all times, and this habit is costing them around £26 per year.

3. Lights

Your dad was right - leaving the lights on does burn cash.

If you leave just one light on all night, it will cost you £23 per year.

Maybe the estimated 4.7 million households who like to leave a light on in the hallway or bathroom might think twice about the cost.

You can make savings by using dimmer switches and replacing your lighting with energy-efficient bulbs, but the best saving is to turn lights off entirely.

4. Games Consoles

Games consoles tend to be left on at all times even when not in use, with many gamers admitting they leave them plugged in so they can update.

Tell them to switch them off when not in use - it's costing the bill payer around £22 per console per year.

5. Speakers

They may not be used as much as other appliances, but this means speakers are typically left on standby for long periods, draining cash.

On average, speakers will cost approximately £6 a year if left on standby.

6. Printers

Another one that sits idle most of the time and is silently eating power.

According to MyJobQuote, an average printer left on standby mode cost almost three times more than a printer in off mode.

Despite many newer printers boasting an energy-saving mode, they can still cost up to £5 per year.

7. Microwaves

A microwave is something which is almost always left on and forgotten about - costing households an extra £5 per year.

8.Phone charges

Despite the myths surrounding them, phone chargers are not the worst offenders for using electricity, although they are probably amongst the worst offenders for being used unnecessarily.

Many of us are in the habit of leaving our phones, tablets, and laptops, to charge overnight, but on average, these devices only take two to four hours to fully charge - this means anything over this timeframe is wasted energy.

A typical iPhone will cost just over £3 per year to charge.

As most homes have more than one of most of these appliances, the costs can soon add up enormously.

As well as the money wasted, using electricity unnecessarily increases your home's carbon footprint, the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere.

Cutting back on electricity will be top of most householders' agenda this winter, as energy prices shoot up due to the instability in the gas market worldwide.

The energy price cap - which sets a limit on the rates you pay for gas and electricity - rose this month, meaning a rise in energy bills for 15 million households to typical £1,277 - an increase of £139.

Meanwhile, the price cap for prepayment customers rose by £153 from £1,156 to £1309.

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