Standby power

One of the simplest and most effective ways to save energy is to reduce the amount of standby power you use. You can start saving money with just a flick of a switch.

Many common home appliances use standby power when they’re turned on at the wall, but you’re not actually using them. When the appliance is in standby mode, it’s ready to use at any time. But to give you this convenience, the appliance constantly uses small amounts of power. Many appliances can waste power in standby mode all day and all night.

By switching appliances off at the wall when you’re not using them, you’ll be surprised how much energy you save. Over time it can make a big difference to your power bill, and the environment.

Appliance standby guide

The list below shows the typical home appliances that use standby power. It’s incredible to think that the average Australian home wastes about 10% of its total energy use on standby power.

These figures show the average percentage of total standby power and watts used by each appliance.

Product	% of total standby power	Watts
Air conditioners	2.9%	2.7
Answering machines	0.5%	0.5
Burglar alarms	0.8%	0.7
Clock radios	2.9%	2.7
Clothes dryers	0.1%	0.1
Clothes washers	1.6%	1.5
Computers	15.7%	14.5
Computer drives, routers, hubs	2.3%	2.1
Computer monitors	3.6%	3.3
Computer speakers	2.2%	2.0
Cordless phone equipment	4.0%	3.7
Dishwashers	0.8%	0.7
DVD players/recorders	2.6%	2.4
Electric space heaters	0.1%	0.1
External power supplies	1.1%	0.1
Facsimiles	1.4%	1.3
Digital set-top boxes	2.0%	1.9
Game consoles	0.4%	0.4
Gas cooktops	0.1%	0.1
Gas space heaters	1.4%	1.3
Instantaneous gas water heaters	1.1%	1.0
Microwaves	2.4%	2.2
Modems	3.7%	3.4
Motion sensors	0.1%	0.1
Photocopiers	0.2%	0.2
Pool equipment	1.5%	1.4
Portable stereos	1.1%	1.0