In this modern age we have all these wonderful gadgets that are designed to instantly turn on for our convenience.

So you come home from work and grab the remote and turn on the TV. Most people don't realise that for the TV to be able to be turned on via the remote, it was never actually turned off.

That's right, the on/off button on all those remotes does not actually turn off anything completely. There is always mains power connected directly to the TV, stereo or computer when they're in this standby mode.

So what is the price of all this instant turn-on convenience?

About 10% of your electricity bill is simply being used to keep all these devices ready to be turned on instantly.

All the devices in standby mode are directly connected to the mains and constantly on 24 hours a day - at a lower power use, yes, but still on. They're costing you money and polluting the environment with tons of greenhouse gases.

If enough people took the time to turn off the TV, stereo or computer at the wall, the nation would instantly cut its power consumption by around 10%. You could potentially save 10% or more off your electricity bill. (This depends on the number of devices you have in standby mode. I'm talking averages here.)

That is a big plus for the environment and your hip pocket.

During the storm season, electrical surges and power outages caused by lightning and high winds damage large numbers of consumer electronics.

Surges and power fluctuations blow them up because the devices are still on and connected to the mains. This can be prevented by simply turning off the devices completely, using the mains switch at the wall.

People have not been educated about the importance off turning all these devices off at the wall when they go out, hear that storm coming or when going to bed at night.

There is also a fire risk. Ideally, no electronic device should be left on or in standby mode unattended.

A lot of this stuff is made cheaply, and you're betting your home and your family's life on its reliability. All electronic devices will eventually fail, no matter how well they're made, and a percentage go up in smoke.

So turn off all those electronic devices at the wall switch when you're leaving the room for any length of time, going out, going to bed at night, or when you hear that storm. Train the whole family in the importance of this.

By the flick of a switch you can save money and clean up the environment, plus increase the safety of your home, your family and yourself.

Wow, if everything was that simple!