There are vampires lurking in your home sucking your energy.
Don’t believe me?
Take a quick glance around your home and you will realise just how many devices are sitting idle, waiting to be used. The typical Aussie home has about 30 devices that constantly draw standby power, accounting for around 10% of a home’s energy bill.
What is Standby Power?
Standby power is electricity used by appliances and equipment while they are switched off (but not at the powerpoint) or not performing their primary function.
How can you tell what is on Standby?
Most appliances will give you some indication that they’re on but on standby. For example, you’ll see a little red light on your TV.
However, sometimes there is no obvious sign of continuous power consumption and you need a meter (like a carbonTRACK Smart Plug) to be certain.
Standby Power is costing you
Standby energy costs eat into your bank account in small bites. If you have a lot of appliances that are inefficient, you could be paying up to $100 or more per year for unnecessary power and contributing more than 1000kg of greenhouse gases to the environment (Choice).
The Department of Industry, Innovation and Science estimate that standby power costs the average Australian home $100 a year. All up, each year it costs Australian consumers $860 million, and 2.6 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions.
Which are the biggest Vampires?
It’s no surprise that the worst offenders are devices like computers, gaming consoles and TVs. But other appliances like air conditioners, coffee machines, small heaters and microwaves can also suck a significant amount of energy when they’re not in use. These appliances are often tucked away or wired in and it isn’t always practical to turn them off, you may forget or the switch might be in a difficult to reach place.
While smaller devices don’t use much energy – it can all add up. With the number of electronic devices expected to grow from 14 billion to 100 billion by 2030, your future home will be very energy-thirsty.
Tips for reducing your Standby Power costs
- When shopping for your next appliance, look for the one with the lowest standby energy score in our test results. Alternatively, standby power consumption is sometimes included in product specs. Look for those with very low amounts, ideally one watt or less.
- If you can feel heat coming from your laptop power pack, even when the appliance isn’t attached, it’s drawing enough energy to cost you money.
- When choosing an appliance that shouldn’t be turned off, such as a fridge, look for one that combines the lowest running cost and best performance to improve your savings even further.
- Don’t forget that the appliance’s overall energy efficiency is still the most important factor. Low standby power use is irrelevant if the appliance is an energy hog when in use!
- Remember to turn off your appliances at the wall where possible. Or, save yourself the time and effort, and get carbonTRACK. carbonTRACK lets you control Smart Plugs from your phone. You’ll be able to turn off all your connected appliances at the touch of a button.
Nip standby power in the bud and vanquish vampire appliances. Get carbonTRACK Smart Plugs so you can remotely turn connected appliances on or off, set timers, and monitor how much electricity they use.
Learn more about what carbonTRACK can do for you today.
