Leaving the lights on causes the most household energy arguments, with families falling out more than once a week
Families argue about leaving the lights on in empty rooms more than once a week[1], as the high cost of gas and electricity continues to cause friction
The average parent turns off 338 lights in empty rooms every year[2], although one in four children (24%) helps save energy around the home[3]
Four in ten households (44%) argue over the cost of heating, and a quarter (25%) have rowed about using the tumble dryer[1]
A quarter of households (25%) have even fallen out over how best to stack the dishwasher[1], with poorly-loaded crockery resulting in needing to run extra loads
Households can avoid quarrels by tracking their energy consumption with free mobile app Utrack by Uswitch, which offers ways to save money on energy.
Families argue about leaving the lights on in empty rooms more than once a week on average, as the high cost of gas and electricity continues to cause friction in homes[1], reveals research from Uswitch.com, the comparison and switching service.
Half of all UK households (50%) argue about leaving the lights on, while homes with children under the age of 18 have a row about the habit 58 times a year on average[1].
Although leaving the lights on causes the most arguments, it adds relatively little to bills. A 4.2W LED bulb left on for an additional four hours every day would add £1.75 to bills over a year[4].
Parents turn off 338 lights in empty rooms every year[2], although one in four children (24%) is helping to save energy around the home[3].
The cost of heating is the second most-common energy argument, with four in ten (44%) households falling out over it[1].
A quarter of households (25%) have rowed about the tumble dryer, while the same proportion have argued over how best to stack the dishwasher[1], with poorly-loaded crockery resulting in needing to run extra loads.
With the average dishwasher cycle using around 0.79kWh of energy, running the appliance for an unnecessary wash could cost households 23p each time. Similarly, a washing machine running on 0.712kWh per cycle could cost 20p for every extra use[4].
| Subject of argument | % of households that argue about this | Arguments per year | Potential cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leaving lights on in empty rooms | 50% | 41 | A 4.2W LED bulb left on for an additional four hours every day would add £1.75 to bills over a year |
| Cost of heating | 44% | 33 | |
| Leaving doors open to the outside | 40% | 29 | |
| Energy bills | 39% | 25 | |
| Leaving the TV on with no one watching | 38% | 32 | A 70W TV left on for four hours would cost 8p in energy. |
| Leaving windows open | 35% | 22 | |
| The temperature of the thermostat | 35% | 25 | The Energy Saving Trust Energy estimates that increasing the temperature by just one degree will increase your annual heating bill by about 10%. |
| Having the heating on when people aren’t wearing a jumper | 34% | 25 | |
| Keeping appliances on standby | 31% | 23 | A desktop computer left on standby for 24 hours would cost 0.5p A Playstation 5 left on standby for 24 hours would cost 0.3p |
| Leaving the fridge door open | 30% | 19 | |
| Cost of showers & baths | 29% | 19 | A ten-minute wash in a 7.5kW shower would cost 36p. A four minute shower would cost 14p |
| Too much time spent on games consoles | 27% | 26 | Five hours of gaming on a Playstation 5 would cost 30p. |
| Running the washing machine when it isn’t full | 27% | 17 | A washing machine running using 0.712kWh per cycle would cost 19p each time |
| Using the tumble dryer (instead of airing clothes) | 25% | 22 | A tumble dryer with a 3.02kWh cycle would cost 81.5p per use. |
| Poorly stacking the dishwasher resulting in extra loads | 25% | 25 | A dishwasher using 0.79kWh of energy, would cost 23p per use |
| Running the dishwasher when it isn’t full | 20% | 21 | A dishwasher using 0.79kWh of energy, would cost 23p per use |
Nearly a fifth of households with children (18%) say their kids are better at saving energy than they were last year. One in ten parents (9%) with children aged five to 17 say that their children are the most committed people in the household when it comes to saving energy[3].
Households can avoid quarrels by tracking their energy consumption with free mobile app Utrack by Uswitch.com, which offers detailed insights into usage and ways to save money on energy.
Natalie Mathie, energy expert at Uswitch.com, comments: “The high cost of energy is causing friction in a lot of UK households, but everyone in the home can play a part in reducing their usage.
“Getting into good habits as a household can save a lot of money, and even small and simple changes such as turning off lights or TVs when not in use can all add up.
“While leaving a light on will cost very little over the course of a year, the cost of regularly running extra loads in the washing machine and dishwasher could set households back a few pounds every month.
“You can’t always tell if changing your habits is making a difference until you see your bill – unless you track your usage. People using the Utrack app, which connects to their smart meter, can see the impact on their bills over time, with hourly graphs comparing gas and electricity use by day, week, month and year.”
Track your energy usage with Utrack by Uswitch here.
Notes
Research conducted online by Opinium, 9th to 12 January 2024, among 2,000 UK adults, weighted to be nationally representative.
1. Respondents were asked ‘How often, if at all, does your household argue about each of the following?’ See ‘most common energy arguments’ table for breakdown of results.
2. Respondents were asked ‘How many times a week do you do the following things?’ including ‘turn off lights in empty rooms’. Weekly figure multiplied to get an annual figure of 338.
3. Respondents were asked ‘Which, if any, of the following statements do you agree with? Please select all that apply.’ 24% of parents said ‘My children help save energy around the house’. 18% said ‘My children are better at helping to save energy around the house than they were last year’. 9% said ‘My children are the most committed people in the household about saving energy’.
4. 4.2W bulb x £0.2862/kW x 1,456 hours = £1.75. Washing machine = 0.712kWh cycle x 0.2862/kW. Dishwasher = 0.79kWh cycle * £0.2862/kW.
About Uswitch
Uswitch is one of the UK’s top comparison websites for home services switching, including energy, broadband and mobiles.
More people go to Uswitch to switch their energy, broadband and mobile than any other site, and we have saved consumers over £2.7 billion off their bills since we launched in September 2000.
Free mobile app Utrack also helps households manage their home energy usage and make potential savings.
Uswitch is part of RVU, a group of online brands with a mission to empower consumers to make more confident home services, insurance and financial decisions.