British people waste more energy than the inhabitants of any other major Western European nation, hastening climate change and adding £2.5bn to annual fuel bills, according to research by the Energy Saving Trust. A poll of 5,000 Europeans found the average Briton admitted to 32 bad habits such as leaving lights on in empty rooms, leaving appliances on standby, boiling more water than needed in a kettle, using the car for short journeys, washing clothes at too high a temperature and leaving the central heating on.
In interviews last month released for the start of Energy Efficiency Week today, Germans admitted to having 14 energy wasting habits, the Spanish 16, the French 19 and the Italians 25. By contrast, the UK was revealed to be a nation of “standby junkies”, with 71 per cent rarely if ever switching off televisions, DVD players, computers and other electrical appliances.
Two-thirds of people boiled surplus water in kettles, and 65 per cent left mobile phone and