Thousands of households worldwide are concerned about their electricity bills. Surely some of your family go around the home shouting things like, “In this house, no one turns off the lights!” “You will see the bill!” Most of the time, they are correct. When the bill arrives at our house, it always appears to be unusually high, even when we haven’t used many appliances.
Have you heard the term “phantom load”? Yes, there is an electrical consumption that your devices generate even when they are turned off, and it can account for up to 11% of your annual bill, a tiny amount of money that you are giving away to the electric companies without realizing it. We will explain what you can do to recognize it and how to reduce it below. The difficulty with this consumption is that there are many myths around it, but we are here to demystify everything and provide you with clearer facts.
Explain to me what is it.
This is the amount of electricity that electronic gadgets consume while in standby mode. Yes, even when your devices are switched off, televisions, microwaves, and routers have small lights that show they are turned off, correct? That little light indicates that these devices require constant electricity to remain ready for rapid use (when you click the power button on your television, it automatically turns on).
What are the myths?
There are still people who believe that a charger that is plugged in but not in use consumes the same amount of electricity as when it is charging. False!
How much do devices consume in standby mode?
The amount of energy that a device consumes will depend on its age and model, but we are going to give you an estimated consumption:
- Television: between 0.7 and 2W.
- Game consoles: up to 4W in standby.
- Router: around 7W.
- Microwave: about 2W (for keeping the digital clock on)
- Mobile phone chargers without a device connected: less than 0.2W.
Consumption by device
| Location | Device | Estimated consumption (W) | Actual measurement (W) | Estimated annual cost ($) | Actual annual cost ($) |
| Living room | TV | 2 | 0.7 | 2.98 | 1.04 |
| Gaming console | 4 | 1.1 (Xbox), 2.3 (Wii) | 5.96 | 5.07 | |
| Digital TV receiver | 5 | – | 7.45 | – | |
| Cordless phone | 4 | 1.2 (Philips) | 5.96 | 1.79 | |
| DVD Player | 4 | – | 5.96 | – | |
| Mini stereo system | 6 | 4.5 (LG) | 8.94 | 6.07 | |
| Home office | Desktop computer | 5 | 2 (iMac) | 7.45 | 2.98 |
| Laptop | 4 | 1 (MacBook) | 5.96 | 1.49 | |
| LCD monitor | 1 | – | 1.49 | – | |
| Router | 8 | 7 (Vodafone) | 11.91 | 10.43 | |
| Printer | 8 | 6 (HP) | 11.91 | 8.94 | |
| Kitchen | Microwave | 4 | 2.1 | 5.96 | 3.13 |
| Coffee machine | 5 | 1.7 | 7.45 | 2.53 | |
| Totals | 60 | 29.6 | 89.40 | 44.10 |
How can I reduce consumption?
- Use a power strip with a switch that allows you to cut off the power when you are not using them
- There are smart power strips, or timers, that turn off once the devices go into standby mode
- We can also recommend that you get an electric consumption metre (it has an estimated price of $15-25) and with it you can measure the voltage, intensity and consumption of any device you plug in.
- Finally, always choose efficient devices that include low consumption, so you can reduce the consumption of your bill a little more.
- Unplug what you are not using!
How can I create sustainable habits?
Of course you can, even if it is complicated! You only need to unlearn a few things, such as the fact that you do not need to turn on all of the lights in the house, let alone have everything linked. These are small gestures that we must include into our daily routines to avoid losing money that could be spent on supper at our favorite restaurant!
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