Over half a million households in the UK have satellite TV dishes installed on their property that they do not actually use, new research has revealed.

According to a study by Harvard International, the distributor of Grundig and Goodmans digital television equipment, around 600,000 homes currently have an inactive satellite dish.

Harvard director of communications John Edwards said that these "digitally dormant" households can easily re-connect to subscription-free satellite TV via the Freesat service.

"We really want to help digitally dormant homes to get connected to the best TV experience possible. It's particularly simple for homes to enable Freesat or Freesat+ if they already have a satellite TV dish connected to their home," he said.

"The digital switchover is well under way. Many regions have already had their analogue TV signal switched off. By 2012 everyone will need to access TV via digital equipment. But for households that already have a satellite TV dish connected to their home, there's little reason to remain digitally dormant."

However, any former satellite TV subscribers with equipment still under warranty should contact their original installer to check whether taking a new service affects their warranty terms.