Standby power — sometimes called phantom load or vampire energy — is the electricity your appliances quietly draw while "off" or idle. It's the blinking clock on the microwave, the warm brick of your TV when it's not playing anything, the modem humming away 24 hours a day, and a dozen chargers plugged in with nothing attached. For the average Australian household, standby power quietly burns through 400–700 kWh a year — worth $140 to $250 at current prices. Here's where it's hiding in your home and how to get rid of most of it.
What Counts as Standby Power
Standby power is any electricity consumed by an appliance when it's not performing its primary function. There are three flavours to know about:
- Active standby: The device is ready to wake on command — TV listening for the remote, game console downloading updates, smart speaker listening for a wake word.
- Passive standby: The device displays time, status lights, or keeps a memory alive — microwave clock, oven display, printer showing "ready".
- Network standby: Network-connected devices that stay online to communicate with a cloud service or phone app — modems, smart hubs, security cameras, connected fridges.
All three add up. Network standby is the fastest-growing category as more of the home becomes connected.
Typical Standby Wattage by Device
Standby varies wildly by generation and brand. A 2024 OLED TV draws less than 1 W idle; a 2012 plasma can draw 15–20 W doing nothing. Here are 2026-typical figures for a mid-sized Australian household:
| Device | Standby Watts | Hours/Day in Standby | Annual kWh | Annual Cost @ 35c/kWh |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Modem / router (always on) | 8–12 W | 24 | 70–105 | $25–$37 |
| Set-top box / PVR (old) | 15–25 W | 22 | 120–200 | $42–$70 |
| Set-top box (modern, Fetch/Foxtel iQ5) | 3–8 W | 22 | 24–64 | $8–$22 |
| Game console (rest mode) | 10–15 W | 22 | 80–120 | $28–$42 |
| Game console (off) | 0.5–1 W | 22 | 4–8 | $1–$3 |
| TV (modern, standby) | 0.5–3 W | 20 | 4–22 | $1–$8 |
| Soundbar / AV receiver | 5–15 W | 20 | 36–110 | $13–$38 |
| Microwave (clock) | 2–3 W | 24 | 17–26 | $6–$9 |
| Oven (clock / control) | 2–5 W | 24 | 17–44 | $6–$15 |
| Dishwasher (idle) | 1–3 W | 23 | 8–25 | $3–$9 |
| Washing machine | 1–2 W | 23 | 8–17 | $3–$6 |
| Coffee machine (auto on/heat) | 3–10 W + heating cycles | 24 | 40–130 | $14–$46 |
| Phone charger (no phone) | 0.1–0.3 W each | 24 | 1–3 each | <$1 each |
| Laptop charger (no laptop) | 0.2–0.5 W | 22 | 2–4 | $1–$2 |
| Desktop PC (sleep) | 3–6 W | 22 | 24–48 | $8–$17 |
| Printer (ready) | 3–5 W | 24 | 26–44 | $9–$15 |
| Smart speakers (each) | 1.5–3 W | 24 | 13–26 | $5–$9 |
| Security camera / doorbell hub | 3–8 W | 24 | 26–70 | $9–$24 |
| Instant gas hot water (electronic ignition) | 3–8 W | 24 | 26–70 | $9–$24 |
How the Numbers Add Up
A useful shortcut: every 1 W of constant standby costs about $3.07 a year at 35c/kWh (1 W × 8,760 h = 8.76 kWh × $0.35). For a typical Australian home with multiple TVs, a modem, two consoles, smart speakers, kitchen appliances, and chargers everywhere, steady-state standby often totals 40–60 W — 350 to 530 kWh a year.
The classic calculation for a moderately loaded home:
- 50 W average standby × 24 h × 365 days = 438 kWh/year
- 438 kWh × $0.35/kWh = $153/year
Homes with older entertainment equipment, multiple set-top boxes, or a lot of connected gadgets can easily push this to $250+.
How to Measure Your Own Standby
Guessing is fine, but measuring is cheap and eye-opening. A plug-in energy meter (sometimes called a "power cost monitor") retails for $25–$60 at Bunnings, Jaycar, or Officeworks. Brands include Power-Mate, Arlec, Jaycar PowerTech, and Belkin Conserve. To use one:
- Plug the meter into the wall, then plug the appliance into the meter.
- Leave the appliance "off" or idle for at least 10 minutes to average out any start-up surges.
- Read the wattage. Anything above 5 W in standby is worth addressing.
- For long-running items, leave the meter attached for a full week and read kWh directly.
For a whole-home view, smart plugs like TP-Link Tapo P110, Brilliant Connect, or Shelly Plug log energy use to a phone app, giving you weekly and monthly totals per outlet for around $25–$45 per plug.
Smart Plugs for Automation
The biggest standby savings come from automating switch-off. The two easy wins:
- Entertainment stack on a single smart plug: TV, soundbar, game console and set-top box on a power board with one smart plug. Schedule it to cut power between 11 pm and 6 am. Savings: $40–$90/year.
- Office stack: Monitor, printer, speakers, dock on a single smart plug with a motion-triggered off after 30 minutes of inactivity. Savings: $20–$50/year.
A $35 smart plug paying back in a year is a 35% annual return — far better than any savings account.
What You Should NOT Switch Off
A few devices need to stay powered. Before putting everything on timers, exclude:
- Fridges and freezers — obviously, and never plug them into power boards.
- Modem / router if you rely on VoIP for phone, alarm backbase, security monitoring, or medical alerts.
- Solar inverter — should always be powered during daylight hours.
- Security systems, smoke alarms, medical devices.
- PVRs while recording — check your recording schedule before automating.
- Smart home hubs controlling other automations you rely on.
- Modern TVs with OTA firmware updates that overnight — leaving standby active means you get security updates.
Realistic Savings
Based on a typical middle-sized Australian home (four occupants, two TVs, one console, one PVR, modem, five smart devices, standard kitchen):
| Scenario | Annual Standby Cost | Saving |
|---|---|---|
| Do nothing | $180–$260 | — |
| Switch off chargers and old soundbar at the wall | $150–$220 | $20–$40 |
| Add 2 smart plugs (entertainment + office) | $80–$130 | $80–$130 |
| Replace old PVR/amp + smart plugs | $40–$80 | $120–$200 |
| Aggressive: all of above + firmware-updated modern TVs and consoles off rest-mode | $30–$60 | $150–$250 |
A realistic, sustainable target for most households is $80–$150 a year in savings — achievable for under $100 of hardware.
Work Out the Numbers for Your Own Appliances
Every home has a different mix of devices, and the quickest way to see which ones deserve a smart plug (versus which ones are already fine) is to plug their wattage into our Appliance Running Cost Calculator. Enter standby watts and hours per day, pick your tariff, and you'll see the annual dollar cost for each device instantly — so you can prioritise the half-dozen that are actually costing you real money.