UK Owners Lose £134m (€160m/$208m) by Overcharging Devices

Although energy efficiency is currently one of the hottest topics generating beneficial changes for millions of households worldwide, a recent study highlights that 90% of the British people overcharge their gadgets, wasting no less than £134million (€160m/$208m) every year. 

Some of them aren't aware of the fact that overcharging translates into bigger energy bills, others seem to forget to pull the plug and most of the consumers adopt this path because they do not want their devices to run out of power in the middle of the day, when they are mostly needed.

Surprisingly, one in ten respondents note they are simply “too lazy” to go green and plug out, Daily Mail informs.

According to a recent study issued by energy firm E.ON, nine in ten British people keep their devices on a permanent charge, forgetting or neglecting the fact that such a habit takes money out of their pockets and annihilates the efforts of making their household truly energy-efficient.

Perhaps one of the most alarming facts is that homeowners don't really know how to prolong the life of their appliances. Most of them simply assume that charging gadgets more often is what actually keeps them working properly. This assumption is wrong and increases the alarming amount of e-waste ending up in landfills every year.

Most of the devices charged excessively are laptops, cell phones and iPods, but the same bad habit is preserved when it comes to electric toothbrushes, some vacuum cleaners and other items we use on a daily basis.

Apart from the fact that it reduces the lifespan of gadgets, overcharging also adds £60(€71/$93) to energy bills on an annual basis. Experts note that a laptop with express charge, most of the cell phones and digital cameras can be recharged in only a couple of hours.

Since every pound counts nowadays, correlating overcharging with financial losses could help people change their attitude and learn more about the real power needs of their gadgets.