Up to €35 million is being wasted per annum by people not switching off appliances in their homes, it was claimed today.
Sustainable Energy Ireland (SEI), which today unveiled its "Spring offensive" on needless waste of electricity, said leaving domestic appliances on standby, rather than switching them, is also damaging the environment.
Head of Customer Services at SEI, Mr Tom Halpin, said that total standby power consumption in the residential sector could be costing as much as €35 million each year, based on a national housing stock of 1.3 million households.
This represents 5 per cent of all residential electricity consumption and about 1.6 per cent of Ireland's total electricity consumption, accounting for more than a quarter of a million tonnes of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas.
The main offenders are televisions, video recorders, DVD players, video games, satellite decoders, stereos, computers, monitors and microwave ovens.
"We all have responsibility for our own energy use and must consider changes we can make in our daily lives to be more efficient, Mr Halpin said.
"A huge proportion of greenhouse gas emissions, of which carbon dioxide is the main one, are produced as a result of the energy we use in our daily lives. In addition, householders are all too aware of the continuing rise in energy and electricity prices.
"If everybody makes even a small change, the result can be dramatic on a national level."
SEI is running a television advertising campaign encouraging people to "See Red and Switch Off".
