{"id":5429,"date":"2024-10-31T13:38:00","date_gmt":"2024-10-31T03:38:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.originenergy.com.au\/uncategorised\/understanding-standby-power"},"modified":"2024-10-31T13:01:46","modified_gmt":"2024-10-31T03:01:46","slug":"understanding-standby-power","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.originenergy.com.au\/blog\/understanding-standby-power\/","title":{"rendered":"Standby power \u2013 the vampire in your&nbsp;home"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"is-style-lead\">We all love a tip that can save you money and there\u2019s one very small&nbsp;change you can make that can lower your energy usage. It all starts with a flick of a switch\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Vampire power&#8221; is working behind the scenes to consume energy even when your appliances are turned off. &nbsp;So what is it? Also known as Standby power, it refers to the energy drawn down by an appliance when it\u2019s not in use. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You might be surprised to learn that standby power consumption can cost the average household <a href=\"https:\/\/www.canstarblue.com.au\/appliances\/cost-leaving-appliances-standby\/#:~:text=between%20%24104.07%20and%20%24176.99%20to%20their%20energy%20bills%20each%20year\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">between $104.07 and $176.99 per year<\/a>.  By turning off appliances at the wall, you could be saving this amount.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Which appliances drain the most power?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Although our appliances and devices are getting smarter, the below table from&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.choice.com.au\/home-improvement\/energy-saving\/standby-energy-savers\/articles\/standby-energy\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">consumer organisation Choice<\/a>&nbsp;shows just how greatly the standby power consumption can vary.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here are a few examples of everyday products and the impact they can have on your power bill annually:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:15px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><strong>PRODUCT <\/strong><\/td><td><strong>LOWEST STANDBY COST <\/strong><\/td><td><strong>HIGHEST STANDBY COST<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Multifunction printer<\/td><td>$0.00<\/td><td> $32.06 <\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Wireless router<\/td><td>$7.13<\/td><td>$41.58<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Smart speaker<\/td><td>$0.27<\/td><td>$9.92<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Washing machine<\/td><td>$0.00<\/td><td>$7.60<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Microwave oven<\/td><td>$0.67<\/td><td>$6.28<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Clothes dryer&nbsp;<\/td><td>$0.28<\/td><td>$1.72<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Air con \u2013 large<\/td><td>$0.04<\/td><td>$1.08<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Digital video recorder<\/td><td>$2.80<\/td><td>$31.30<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>TVs &#8211; 100-115cm<\/td><td>$0.01<\/td><td>$0.02<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Blu-Ray players<\/td><td>$0.00<\/td><td>$0.01<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:15px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>As you can see, while the usage costs aren&#8217;t incredibly high, they do add up. It pays to shop around and check the star-rating of your appliances.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Slay vampire power by:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Switching off appliances at the wall when they&#8217;re not in use. Think electric toothbrushes, hair stylers, TVs, PCs and game consoles.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Invest in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.originenergy.com.au\/blog\/smart-devices-reduce-energy-use\/\">smart plugs<\/a>, these allow you to set timers so that appliances are automatically switched off according to your schedule \u2014 and during <a href=\"https:\/\/www.originenergy.com.au\/spike\/\">SpikeHours<\/a>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>When investing in appliances that run all day, like fridges, ensure you base your purchase off the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.originenergy.com.au\/blog\/how-to-choose-energy-efficient-appliances\/\">lowest running costs<\/a>&nbsp;and best performance.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Always check the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.originenergy.com.au\/blog\/how-to-read-the-energy-rating-label\/\">energy-rating<\/a> label whenever you&#8217;re in the market for new appliances. Even though an appliance looks like a bargain at first glance, it might end up costing you more in the long run. Our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.originenergy.com.au\/blog\/how-to-choose-energy-efficient-appliances\/\">handy guide<\/a> can help you find the most energy-efficient appliances for your home.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-is-layout-1 wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.originenergy.com.au\/blog\/12-tips-for-an-energy-efficient-home\/\">Click for more energy saving tips<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Learn about standby energy and the drain it has while you\u2019re not home. Save on your bills with our tips for managing vampire&nbsp;power.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":18703,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[105],"tags":[47],"oe_author":[],"class_list":["post-5429","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-at-home","tag-energy-efficiency"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.originenergy.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5429","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.originenergy.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.originenergy.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.originenergy.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/27"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.originenergy.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5429"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.originenergy.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5429\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.originenergy.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18703"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.originenergy.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5429"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.originenergy.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5429"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.originenergy.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5429"},{"taxonomy":"oe_author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.originenergy.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/oe_author?post=5429"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}