A thrifty, low‑tech habit from the 1950s is quietly back in fashion.
It targets the electricity you never intend to buy: the trickle that seeps into idle televisions, chargers and kitchen gadgets overnight. Using one extension lead with a switch and a simple mechanical timer, you can cut that waste while you sleep and keep daytime comfort intact.
The quiet leak you pay for every night
Many homes feed a small, constant draw into idle devices. Televisions, set‑top boxes, soundbars, games consoles, printers and coffee machines sip a few watts all night. The total can rival the draw of a small appliance left on low. Multiply that by seven hours and thirty nights, and you buy energy you never enjoy.
One timed off‑period can eliminate standby waste during the hours you never use those devices, with no hit to comfort.
Reports from households trialling this set‑up show typical drops around £18 a month, or more than £200 a year, when several “always‑on” devices are grouped and powered down overnight. The principle is simple: cut power when the house rests, restore it when people wake.
The kit that makes it work
- One 6‑way extension lead with a master switch
- One plug‑in mechanical timer, around £15
- Labels to tag each plug, plus a small notebook to map routines
- A tape measure to keep cable runs neat and safe
No timer today? Set two daily phone alarms and flick the extension’s switch by hand. It costs nothing, and you can automate later.
Set‑up in four short steps
Map your standby culprits
List the devices you never need between late evening and morning. Typical candidates: TV, set‑top box, console, amplifier, coffee machine with clock, printer, smart speaker dock, decorative lights, secondary monitors. Keep fridges, freezers, boilers, alarm systems and medical kit off this list.
Group and label
Place these devices within 1–1.5 metres of a single extension lead. Label each plug for clarity. Put the extension where you can reach its switch without moving furniture. Avoid damp corners and tangled cable nests.
Choose your overnight window
Start with 23:00 to 06:00. That’s seven hours of guaranteed saving. Earlier sleepers can bring the start forward; night owls can delay it. In winter, you may shift the window by an hour to suit routines. Set the timer so it cuts power for that block. In the morning, the timer restores power automatically; your kit wakes up with you.
Test, then tune
Watch your home display from the smart meter, if you have one, as the timer clicks off. You should see the baseline drop. If a device needs updates at night (some recorders, consoles), leave it on a separate socket. If your landline phone needs power for emergencies, keep the router on its own plug.
Set it once, then forget it: overnight waste goes, your coffee still brews, and the TV obeys the remote at breakfast.
What could you save?
Standby draw varies widely. The table shows plausible figures for common kit and the saving from cutting seven hours’ worth each night. The unit price is illustrative at £0.28 per kWh.
| Device | Typical standby (W) | Hours cut per day | Monthly saving (kWh) | Monthly saving (£) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TV + set‑top box | 10 | 7 | 2.1 | 0.59 |
| Games console | 6 | 7 | 1.26 | 0.35 |
| Soundbar/amp | 5 | 7 | 1.05 | 0.29 |
| Printer | 4 | 7 | 0.84 | 0.24 |
| Coffee machine | 3 | 7 | 0.63 | 0.18 |
| Chargers and docks (bundle) | 4 | 7 | 0.84 | 0.24 |
| Decorative lighting | 8 | 7 | 1.68 | 0.47 |
| Total example | 40 | 7 | 8.4 | £2.35 |
Some homes sit much higher. Add an always‑on media server, an AV receiver, a console in instant‑on mode and a second TV, and the cut‑off can avoid 100–150 watts for seven hours. That reaches 21–31 kWh a month, or roughly £6–£9. In dense set‑ups with multiple boxes and amplifiers, households have reported around £18 a month saved. Your baseline dictates the outcome.
Where does the “15%” sit?
That figure reflects the share of consumption tied to standby and idle periods in many homes. If standby and off‑hours gadgets claim around a tenth to a sixth of your electricity, neutralising them for a big chunk of the night can trim that slice by up to 15%. It is a cut to waste, not to comfort, and it arrives without touching heating or cooking routines.
Safety and common‑sense limits
- Do not overload the extension lead. Tot up the maximum loads and stay within its rating.
- Never put heaters, kettles or high‑power appliances on the timer circuit.
- Keep the extension dry and ventilated. Avoid wedging adapters behind curtains or radiators.
- Give routers, security systems and medical devices their own always‑on sockets if needed.
- Use surge protection where you have sensitive AV kit.
- Label everything. Anyone at home should know what the switch controls.
Make the habit stick
Note your real routines for a week. When do you actually use the TV, console and coffee machine? Set the timer around that reality. If mornings start earlier on weekdays than weekends, buy a timer with multiple on/off segments so you can run a slightly different pattern across the week.
Humidity raises background consumption for dehumidifiers and some fridge‑freezers. Keep rooms aired and vents clear. Tidy cable runs along skirting boards with flat extensions to avoid trip hazards. Keep the switch accessible but discreet, so guests and children do not fiddle with it.
Return on a shoestring
A £15 mechanical timer and a decent extension lead repay themselves quickly. If you avoid 100 watts for seven hours nightly, you save about 21 kWh a month. At £0.28 per kWh, that is near £5.90 monthly, so the timer pays back in under three months. If your baseline cut is nearer 300 watts across a large AV corner, payback can land in a few weeks.
No timer yet? Set recurring alarms at bedtime and wake‑up for a manual switch. Add the timer later; the habit and the labels do most of the heavy lifting.
Extra ways to widen the gain
Use your smart meter’s in‑home display for a before‑and‑after check. Note the baseline at 22:30, then at 23:15 once the timer clicks. The difference is your standby slice. Keep a small log for a month and compare the bill. Consider scheduling consoles out of “instant on” and into full shutdown. Set TVs to power down fully after inactivity. For coffee machines with clocks, switch to a kettle and manual brewer on weekdays.
Pair the night‑time cut‑off with two quick wins: boil only the water you need, and dry clothes on racks when weather allows. These steps do not fight your comfort. They simply remove energy you never meant to buy in the first place.
