THE Government is to outlaw standby switches on televisions and video and DVD players to cut the amount of electricity wasted in the home.

Refrigerators, washing machines and dishwashers will have to become energy-efficient, and lightbulbs that burn too much energy will be phased out.

According to yesterday’s Energy Review, standby facilities use 8 per cent of all domestic electricity.

Lighting, set-top boxes, televisions, chargers, fridges, freezers, washing machines and computers were highlighted as wasteful products that must be redesigned to save power.

New homes, which are already four times more energy-efficient than the average household, are to face stringent regulations.

Businesses will have to phase out or reduce drastically the energy used by computers, printers and photocopiers left on standby.

By cutting wastage and making equipment more efficient, ministers hope to win a significant reduction in Britain’s energy requirements.

Energy efficiency is one of the main planks of the Government’s Energy Review, which is intended to lay out how Britain receives and uses its power for the next 20 years.

Ministers want to shift energy production away from traditional fossil fuel sources to improve security of supply.

The Government hopes that the measures in the review will reduce emissions by an additional 13 to 17 per cent by 2020, on top of the estimated 14 per cent already expected.

Power companies will be expected to play their part.

They will be offered incentives to reduce the electricity supplied to each home by encouraging customers to put in insulation or install solar panels.

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