The Plug

The number of electrical appliances in the average Icelandic household is on the increase. Around 10% of energy use of household appliances is often taken up by the ‘standby’ mode. It should be kept in mind that in standby mode the electrical appliances use energy without actually being used. Appliances in standby mode only increase the energy bill. This kind of passive energy use is often termed energy leakage as the energy leaks away without being useful to anyone. The easiest way to diminish this kind of leakage is to turn off the appliances after use and even to unplug them completely. Some charging devices also draw current even though no gadget is actually connected.

Kitchen appliances use a lot of energy. When you buy gadgets for the kitchen it pays to buy those that  use energy on the scale of A, A+ or A+++ according to European standards or which are labelled with the label Energy Star.