New coffee machines will have to switch off or into standby automatically after a set length of time, under EU rules which kicked in on New Year’s Day.

The European Commission claims drip filter coffee machines will use a third less electricity as a result of this, saving people around €45 (£35) for the lifetime of the machine.

Depending on the type of coffee machine, they must switch off after different amounts of time.

Ones with non-insulated jugs must switch to standby or off mode after 40 minutes after the last brewing cycle but the auto-switch off time drops to 5 minutes if they have insulated jugs which “keep the coffee at the right temperature and preserve its aroma, without any further heating needs”.

It’s stricter for espresso machines which must switch into standby/off mode right after brewing, pre-heating and cleaning is completed.

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A similar rule about automatic standby kicks in for networked devices such as modems, connected TVs and printers. New ones will need a function that switches them into a low power standby mode if no main task is performed.

Household goods sold online also need to have an energy label, showing their energy efficiency rating.

The new rules stem from changes to the 2009 Ecodesign Directive and the 2010 Energy Labelling Directive.

From September 2015 onwards, space and water heaters such as gas boilers and heat pumps can expect the same treatment, with labelling and efficiency requirements for new products.