Standby consumption

Prevent your appliances from wasting electricity

Many appliances have standby consumption. This is the power used by the appliance even when you switch it off and are no longer using it. The reason for standby consumption is that the appliance has functions that operate continuously (e.g. clock or program monitoring). Additional power is lost in the power supply unit.

How can I limit my standby consumption?

The simplest way of limiting standby consumption is to switch off the appliance at the plug. This ensures that computer equipment, audio systems and other appliances are completely powered down when not in use.

Some wall plugs do not have an on/off switch and others can be hidden behind a shelf unit. Using energy saving equipment is recommended under these circumstances.

Energy saving devices help by automatically switching off the power, thereby eliminating standby consumption. AutoPowerOff plug banks for computers and TVs are two power saving devices that switch off all connected appliances (e.g. monitors, modems, printers, loudspeakers, DVDs, scanners, games consoles, decoders, etc.) when the computer or TV are switched off. There are also wireless systems which allow you to switch off your appliances by remote control. Some of these systems have a built-in electricity meter that can monitor the actual power consumption.