Holidaying or being away from home during work or for work away from home can cost a small fortune so what’s the point in paying for electricity you’re not using while you’re away from home?

Energex says that’s just what happens when you drive off leaving electrical equipment such as TVs, microwaves, washing machines and modems with a standby mode left on.

In fact Energex’s Ben Carberry said when you add up the power consumption of every appliance in a home left on standby mode year round it can really hit your hip pocket.

“Most people don’t know that around 10 per cent of every power bill, which in some cases can amount to hundreds of dollars a year, can be attributed to appliances sitting there idle in standby mode,” Mr Carberry said.

“And what’s worse, while you’re away on your break the items left turned on at the wall are chipping away at your wallet when you are already dishing out hard earned cash for your trip.

“So it’s always a good idea to not just switch off before heading off this during your time away, but to also consider using this practice of switching off infrequently used appliances with standby mode at the wall until they are needed.”

Mr Carberry said with the cooler months just around it’s also a good time to continue the energy efficiency practice by switching off appliances generally needed in summer.

“Plenty of Queenslanders love a cold drink during summer and stock up a second fridge with refreshments for the hotter months,” he said.

“But with summer over it’s a good time to clean those power hungry second fridges out and switch them off until later in the year.

“Similarly, now’s a good time to give your reverse cycle air conditioners’ filters a good clean so when you use them to heat your home in winter they will be running much more cost efficiently.”