New research from British Gas has revealed Britain is now a nation of box set bingers, with nearly three quarters of the population admitting to regularly watching more than one episode of their favourite television shows in a row.
Credit: HBO
Ahead of the launch of Game of Thrones' sixth season, the study not only looked at which shows are the most 'bingeworthy', but how much energy Britain's spending doing so, with the average amount of binge-watching now at six episodes back-to-back. Energy usage on televisions has gone up 19% since the 1990s, with DVD usage up by 6% demonstrating how we are now increasing our consumption of entertainment.
Last year, entertainment energy usage in the UK was at an annual high in April, coinciding with Game of Thrones season 5 release, with the public powering up their televisions, laptops and tablets to follow all of the action.
The top 10 most popular box sets were revealed:
- Game of Thrones
- Friends
- Breaking Bad
- The Walking Dead
- The Simpsons
- Only Fools and Horses
- Dr. Who
- The Inbetweeners
- 24
- Dexter
Seven in 10 people polled admitted that the reason they binge television is because it's addictive, with just under a quarter saying it's their favourite thing to do, and one in five bingeing because of the fear of missing out.
Sushil Umrao, Smart Energy Expert at British Gas commented: "There are some simple ways to be smart with your energy use when it comes to a marathon TV session. When you're settling down to enjoy series, make sure you don't leave multiple appliances running around the home while you won't be using them. And, when you're finished, don't forget to switch the telly off, rather than leave it on standby!
"The great thing about having a smart meter is that you can see how much electricity you're using throughout the day, which helps you take control and keep on top of what you're using your energy for. Finally, when choosing a TV, it is also worth looking for models which have an energy efficient label."
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