Britons are collectively spending millions of pounds in electricity to keep their increasingly-vast array of gadgets powered, according to research from the price comparison site uSwitch.com.

According to the firm, £1.9 billion is spent every year in the UK on charging gadgets like mobile phones, mp3 players and so forth.

By 2020 a full 45 per cent of all electricity used in the home will be for charging up pieces of technology.

Ann Robinson, director of consumer policy at uSwitch.com, said: “Gadgets that were unheard of ten years ago are now seen as indispensable to modern day living.

“The knock-on effect is that our demand for energy is growing as we plug-in and power up a myriad of gadgets and gismos.”

However, many people do not yet know how to use their gadgets in a “responsible and energy-efficient way”, added Ms Robinson.

Over 90 per cent of those aged 15 to 34 in the UK now own a mobile phone, according to the National Statistics Office.

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