Five appliances you could turn off to save money on bills

This could push the typical annual bill for households on standard or default tariffs from £1,663 to £1,723.

You might not realise, but there are several appliances that can drain small amounts of electricity and bump up your energy bill.

An expert has revealed a few of the household appliances you could be turning off to save some extra money.

Game consoles are one of the things that can use lots of energy. (Image: Getty)

Household appliances you should turn off to save money

According to the Energy Saving Trust, households can save around £45 a year in Great Britain and £55 in Northern Ireland simply by turning off your appliances that are on standby.

The trust said: "You can turn almost all electrical appliances off at the plug without upsetting their programming.

"You can also buy standby savers, which let you turn all your appliances off standby in one go to save electricity.

"Check the instructions for any appliances you aren’t sure about.

"You may need to leave some satellite and digital TV recorders plugged in so they can track any programmes you want to record.

"Also remember that some appliances, like fridges and freezers, need to be on all the time."

Eric Bramlett, a property expert and owner of Bramlett Residential, has picked out household appliances you should not leave on standby.

Cable or satellite boxes

You should try unplugging your cable or satellite boxes rather than leaving them on standby as they can consume quite a lot of electricity.

Eric said: “A friend of mine found that unplugging their cable box when not in use made a difference in their monthly energy bills."

Desktop computers

Eric said: "Don't even get me started on those.

“Just shut them down when you're done using them and watch your bills melt away."

Computers use more electricity than laptops, so it is important to turn them off completely when you are done using them.

Old appliances

Old appliances are less efficient and use more power, which is often thanks to a number of worn or faulty components in them.

An old fridge can use a lot of electricity and while you should not shut off your fridge entirely, you should think about upgrading it to a more energy-efficient model.

Microwave ovens

Microwave ovens will use electricity even when they are not being used to keep the clock displays running.

You can easily unplug these to save a bit of extra money.

Games consoles

On game consoles, Eric said: "They can be real energy hogs on standby.

"A client of mine saw their energy bills drop after turning off their console when not in use."

Game consoles have on and off switches that place them into a low-power standby mode.

However, many users will forget to turn them off when they are in this mode, leading to higher energy bills.

Will you be unplugging some of your appliances around the house to help save some extra money? Let us know in the comments.