Millions of Brits are wasting energy by watching one of their three household televisions alone while housemates or relatives watch the same TV show in another room*, according to new research by energy supplier npower.

Lack of family friendly programmes has led to this division in the home showing that the days of family bonding over a favourite television show are sadly long gone – and 46% of Brits have absolutely no idea how much energy they are wasting as a result of this fragmented viewing.

The poll of 2,000 people showed that the reason behind the nation’s disjointed viewing habits seems to have come down to what’s on the box. Last year there were only two shows which brought the family together for communal viewing and both are thanks to Simon Cowell – X Factor and Britain’s Got Talent.

With three televisions on average per household and no shared preference regarding what’s on, it’s no surprise that the overall energy consumption in homes is responsible for over a quarter of all UK emissions of carbon dioxide. Cutting out certain behaviours like wasteful TV consumption can reduce carbon emissions and save households over £300 a year.

Further figures showed:
– 47% of Brits put the telly on just to keep them company
– 42% of the nation is glued to the screen for approximately four hours a day
– 19% of Brits have a TV dinner every night of the week
– 15% of Brits put the telly on while they’re getting ready in the morning even though they don’t watch it

Reassuringly, the poll revealed that people are not happy with this state of affairs. 32% of the population think television should be a sociable activity and 21% of viewers would prefer to watch television in the company of the rest of the household.

In response, npower has launched its smartpower campaign to encourage the public to watch TV programmes as a unit again and then monitor the difference in their energy consumption and bills via a free smartpower electricity monitor.

Via EPR Network
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