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Also known as "Vampire Power"

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How can I reduce my use of standby power?

Power Strips

Standby Power: The Gift That Keeps On Bleeding..............

An amazingly large number of electrical products—TVs, microwave ovens, air conditioners, and much more—cannot be switched off completely without being unplugged. These products draw power 24 hours a day, often without the knowledge of the consumer. We call this power consumption "standby power." A typical American home has forty products constantly drawing power. Together these amount to almost ten percent of residential electricity use. TVs and DVDs in standby mode still use several watts of power, up to 40% of the power they use when running.

Almost any product with an external power supply, remote control, continuous display (including an LED), or charges batteries will draw power continuously. Sometimes there is no obvious sign of continuous power consumption and you need a meter to be certain. Nobody knows for sure what the percentage of total power used in the US is "standby power", but it's typically 5-10% of residential electricity use in most developed countries and a rising fraction in the developing countries. Standby power in commercial buildings is smaller but still significant. Altogether, standby power use is roughly responsible for 1% of global CO2 emissions.

Here is an EPA chart demonstrating Standby Power use in your home. If a device draws 1 watt constantly for a year, then its energy consumption was 9 kWh. That corresponds to about $1.00. So, when the chart says 5 watts, that's 5 x 9 = 45 kWh/year = $5/year. You'll quickly see that almost any single device consumes very little in annual electricity use but, when multiplied by 40+ products, the sum is significant.

STANDBY POWER SUMMARY TABLE

Product/Mode Average (W) Min (W) Max (W) Count
Air Conditioner, room/wall
Off 0.9 0.9 0.9 1
Charger, mobile phone
On, charged 2.24 0.75 4.11 4
On, charging 3.68 0.27 7.5 23
Power supply only 0.26 0.02 1 32
Charger not connected to phone 0.14 0.14 0.14 1
Clock, radio
On 2.01 0.97 7.6 23
Computer Display, CRT
Off 0.8 0 2.99 21
On 65.1 34.54 124.78 21
Sleep 12.14 1.6 74.5 14
Computer Display, LCD
Off 1.13 0.31 3.5 32
On 27.61 1.9 55.48 31
Sleep 1.38 0.37 7.8 30
Computer, desktop
On, idle 73.97 27.5 180.83 63
Off 2.84 0 9.21 64
Sleep 21.13 1.1 83.3 52
Computer, notebook
Fully on, charged 29.48 14.95 73.1 13
Fully on, charging 44.28 27.38 66.9 8
Off 8.9 0.47 50 19
Power supply only 4.42 0.15 26.4 19
Sleep 15.77 0.82 54.8 16
Fax, inkjet
Off 5.31 0 8.72 3
On 6.22 2.89 14 8
Fax, laser
Off 0 0 0 1
On 6.1 6.1 6.1 1
Ready 6.42 6.42 6.42 1
Heating, furnace central
Off 4.21 0 9.8 16
On 339.71 70.5 796 14
Hub, USB
Off 1.44 0.95 1.81 5
On 2.06 1.06 3.55 7
Modem, DSL
Off 1.37 0.33 2.02 16
On 5.37 3.38 8.22 20
Modem, cable
Off 3.84 1.57 6.62 8
On 6.25 3.64 8.62 16
Standby 3.85 3.59 4.11 2
Multi-function Device, inkjet
Off 5.26 0 10.03 23
On 9.16 3.9 17.7 24
Multi-function Device, laser
Off 3.12 0 4.7 3
On 49.68 5 175 4
Night Light, interior
Off 0.05 0 0.34 10
On 4.47 0 27.97 19
Ready 0.22 0 1.2 8
Phone, cordless
Ready, handset 2.81 1.05 4.89 35
Ready, no handset 1.58 0.59 3.09 35
Active (talking) 1.9 0.59 3.38 33
Off 0.98 0.54 1.8 10
Phone, cordless with answering machine
Ready, handset 4 2.15 7.4 20
Ready, no handset 2.82 1.72 4.7 20
Active (talking) 3.53 2.2 6.5 21
Off 2.92 0.9 7.4 11
Power Tool, cordless
Ready, charged 8.34 1.82 14 5
Active 29.53 1.39 66 16
Ready 1.74 0 4.7 23
Printer, inkjet
Off 1.26 0 4 25
On 4.93 1.81 22 25
Printer, laser
Off 1.58 0 4.5 7
On 131.07 1.7 481.9 5
Range, gas
Ready 1.13 0.7 1.7 4
Scanner, flatbed
Off 2.48 0.27 8.2 6
On 9.6 1.71 15.6 10
Security Systems, home
Ready 2.7 2.7 2.7 1
Set-top Box, DVR
On, no recording 37.64 25.95 49.2 4
On, recording 29.29 27.27 31.3 2
Off 36.68 23.3 48.6 4
Set-top Box, digital cable with DVR
Not recording, TV off 44.63 44.38 44.87 2
Not recording, TV on 44.4 44.2 44.6 2
Off by remote 43.46 43.3 43.61 2
Set-top Box, digital cable
On, TV off 24.65 14.2 74.74 18
On, TV on 29.64 14.1 102.23 18
Off by remote 17.83 13.24 30.6 14
Off by switch 17.5 13.7 26.3 16
Set-top Box, satellite with DVR
Not recording, TV off 28.35 25.8 30.9 2
Not recording, TV on 31.37 24.2 36.3 3
Off by remote 27.8 22 33.6 2
Set-top Box, satellite
On, TV off 15.95 7.69 33.2 33
On, TV on 16.15 7.69 33.2 33
Off by remote 15.66 6.58 33.05 25
Off by switch 15.47 6.58 32.7 31
Speakers, computer
On, no sound 4.12 0.69 9.84 21
Off 1.79 0 5.6 19
Stereo, portable
CD, not playing 4.11 1.29 6.83 15
Cassette, not playing 2.42 1.16 5.92 13
CD playing 6.8 3.96 9.2 15
Off 1.66 0.7 5.44 19
Radio playing 3.3 1.36 8.25 20
Television, CRT
Off by remote 3.06 0.3 10.34 38
Off by switch 2.88 0 16.1 58
Television, rear projection
On 186.09 186.09 186.09 1
Off by remote 6.97 0.2 48.5 16
Off by switch 6.6 0.2 48.5 15
Timer, irrigation
Off 2.75 1.5 5.9 14
Ready 2.84 1.5 5.9 16
Tuner, AM/FM
On, not playing 9.48 5.08 16.4 3
On, playing 9.92 5.07 17.7 3
Off 1.12 0 3.37 3
Amplifier
On, not playing 33.99 21.4 70.93 6
On, playing 39.16 21.11 69.3 6
Off 0.27 0 1.8 7
Audio Minisystem
CD, not playing 13.99 1.67 36.95 28
Cassette, not playing 13.85 1.67 33.14 24
CD playing 19.09 5.2 41.2 24
Off 8.32 0.3 24.58 27
Radio playing 14.41 2.98 38 28
CD Player
On, not playing 8.62 4 25.7 7
On, playing 9.91 5.8 25.6 7
Off 5.04 2 18.4 7
Caller ID Unit
Ready 1.27 1.27 1.27 1
Cassette Deck
On, not playing 4.53 4.36 4.7 2
On, playing 5.72 5.2 6.25 2
Off 0.54 0 1.08 2
Clock
On 1.74 0.99 3.61 21
Radio playing 2.95 1.7 4.2 2
Coffee Maker
Off 1.14 0 2.7 12
Copier
Off 1.49 0 2.97 2
On 9.63 3.6 14 3
DVD Recorder
Off 0.75 0 1.5 2
DVD Player
On, not playing 7.54 0.24 12.7 33
On, playing 9.91 5.28 17.17 33
Off 1.55 0 10.58 33
DVD/VCR
On, not playing 13.51 8.48 20.5 21
On, playing 15.33 9.43 22.37 19
Off 5.04 0.09 12.7 21
Game Console
Active 26.98 5.4 67.68 24
Off 1.01 0 2.13 26
Ready 23.34 2.12 63.74 24
Garage Door Opener
Ready 4.48 1.8 7.3 34
Low-voltage Landscape
Ready 1.13 1.1 1.17 2
Microwave Ovens
Ready, door closed 3.08 1.4 4.9 18
Ready, door open 25.79 1.6 39 17
Cooking 1433. 966.2 1723. 18
Musical Instruments
Off 2.82 1.2 4.2 9
Receiver (audio)
On, not playing 37.61 17.1 65.2 18
Off 2.92 0 19.7 18
Subwoofer
On, not playing 10.7 5.8 20.6 7
On, playing 12.42 5.9 20.6 6
Surge Protector
Off 1.05 0 6.3 6
On 0.8 0 6.92 43
Telephone Answering Device
Off 2.01 1.31 2.55 7
Ready 2.25 1.42 2.83 7
Television/VCR
Off by remote 5.15 2.15 13.3 6
Off by switch 5.99 2.15 13.11 7
Turntable (audio)
On, not playing 6.01 1.72 12.8 3
Off 0.2 0 0.6 3
VCR
On, not playing 7.77 3.8 11.62 14
Off 4.68071 1.2 9.9 14

 

 

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