Brit's Nasty TV Habits Revealed Due to Lack of Family Shows

Released on: March 25, 2010, 01:12 am
Author: npower
Industry: Energy

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.

The results of npower's research are also reflected in the new Wallace & Gromit TV advert where, like the rest of society, there are too many televisions in the home - one homemade widescreen telly made of 31 televisions taped together to be precise. And like the rest of the population, Wallace isn't the only one not to underestimate TV usage until he's given a smartpower electricity monitor from Gromit - which tells him exactly how much energy he's wasting.

Kevin Peake, Marketing Director from npower commented: "We were really surprised by the research to see that there were all these households throughout the UK filled with people watching television alone in room's right next door to each other - but reassuring to know that as a nation we'd prefer to be in other people's company.

"If the will is already there to come together as a family to watch TV then energy efficiency is just a great by product and needn't be a chore - and you can save money too."

- ENDS -

Notes to editors:
* 26% of the population admitting to viewing the same programme in another room

About npower
npower is launching its smartpower campaign to help its existing and new customers by giving them a free smartpower electricity monitor when they sign up to an online account so they can keep an eye on the total amount of energy being used.

A smartpower electricity monitor is an easy way to see how much electricity is being used - as it is used - and what it costs. People who use smartpower electricity monitors tend to find their energy use drops by between five and 15% in the first year of using them.

For further information, interviews and images please contact:
Ben Dobson
Resonate Communications Ltd
5th Floor Holborn Gate
330 High Holborn
London
WC1V 7QG
020 7861 2525
http://www.npower.com/