Swings and roundabouts chaps... swings and roundabouts.

The biggest impact would be if we turned off all those things that are left on standby - all those electrical items like video/DVD players, computers, monitors, electric clocks - and if we did it every day. I know I'm just as guilty as the next person of leaving things on standby, but I do try to remember to turn things off when I can, or if I don't need them. Trouble is, more and more equipment is being created with standby as the default function, rather than the good old 'off' mode.

My most annoying bugbear are DVD/Video players - if I have a DVD, digital box, video player and satelitte TV box all attached to my TV, why do I need a clock on all of them? Changing the clocks every Spring and Autumn was a complete bind. Last year we acquired a DVD/VHS/Digibox combination which reduced the output considerably and left me with only one electric timepiece to fiddle with. With so many electric appliances designed to do only one function, it's no wonder we're running on high energy useage and no-one ever has enough power sockets.

LTS