- One in eight adults leave their mobile on charge for 8 hours every time they plug in despite the battery being full
- Overchargers waste almost £40 million a year on electricity*
Worryingly, it is the younger generation that are the least environmentally conscious with two fifths (49 per cent) of those under twenty admitting to overcharging their mobiles by an average of 7.3 hours every time the plug in. The national picture isn't much better with one in eight (13%) Brits overcharging by an average of eight hours; adding up to a total of 85,000 tonnes of CO2 every year and £40 million* on electric bills. ***
Women seem to be the more environmentally conscious when it comes to charging mobiles, with just 11 per cent admitting to overcharging for an average of 6.8 hours compared to 15 per cent of men who overcharge for an average of 8.5 hours every time the charge up their phones.
James Parker, manager of mobiles at moneysupermarket.com, says: "There have been some great advances in green technology from mobile manufacturers recently but all that goes out the window when people are overcharging mobiles - wasting energy and driving up their utility bills.
"Many people can't imagine going a day without their mobile meaning they have them almost permanently plugged in. The average phone only takes about 2-3 hours to charge up and overcharging can actually be damaging to the battery life. People should remember to unplug the phone charger when they are done; it will not only be good for the phone's battery life, but good for their wallet too."
Ways to reduce energy waste and save a few pounds
- Only charge your mobile phone for up to four hours
- Only charge your mobile phone when the battery is dead as it helps to prolong battery life
- Invest in an eco-charger that stops charging once the battery is full (available for most handset makes from most high street retailers)
- If you like to charge your phone overnight invest in an electronic timer plug that allows you to select the time you wish to charge
-END-
Notes to editors
* 13% of population (48.315) = 6,280,950 leave their phone on charge for 7.9 hours. This equates to 0.13825kwh per charge. Assuming the 6.2m adults overcharge their phone every other day this equates to 157,169,782.09kwh per year and £39,889,690.69 if charged at British Gas's standard rate of 25.380p per kwh.
** Opinium Research carried out an online poll of 2,088 British adults between 23rd and 26th of January. Results have been weighted to nationally representative criteria
***13% of population (48.315) = 6,280,950 leave their phone on charge for 7.9 hours. This equates to 0.13825kwh or 0.074243kg of CO2. Assuming the 6.2m adults charge their phone every other day this equates to 84,870 tonnes of CO2 every year.
Download This Press Release
Download as RTF
Related Links
