You won't need to be told that lights require electricity to function, so if you are in the habit of leaving lights on in empty rooms, you are wasting valuable energy and money. More electricity consumed means more fossil fuels burned, increasing your carbon footprint and contributing to climate change.

And, if all that wasn't enough, leaving lights on for longer than needed leads to bulbs wearing out sooner, so you'll be forced to fork out for replacements. In Scotland alone, leaving lights on in empty rooms costs £1.8 million ($2.4m) annually, with around 8% of people leaving lights on for pets and 25% for security, as reported by The Scotsman newspaper.

Featured lighting available from Sparkle Lighting.

19 shocking ways you're wasting money at home