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Standby losses
Standby power is the electricity consumed by appliances when they are switched off at the appliance but not at the wall. Many appliances these days revert to a sleep or standby mode when switched off. In this mode they are not performing their primary function but still consume electricity. Some devices, especially TVs, consume nearly as much energy on standby as when they are in use. This electricity is used to maintain memory, run a clock, maintain remote control activation and other features. Much of it performs no function at all and is simply wasted. Over the course of a year, a microwave oven uses more energy powering its clock than it does cooking your food.
Standby power use is becoming a major problem. In New Zealand, standby power consumes around 10% of an average household’s electricity and costs around $100 million every year – enough electricity for 77,000 homes. The average power consumption of a typical home theatre system in standby mode is equivalent to leaving a light continuously switched on.
To reduce standby power losses you need to turn off appliances at the wall when not in use.
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