Search all WA Government Sites Print this page	What is standby power? Standby power is the power consumed by an appliance when it is plugged in but not in operation. An example is a television switched off by remote control that is awaiting an instruction from the remote to reactivate. Another example is when an appliance has been switched off but the power point switch is on and the equipment is still consuming power. Generally there is a clock or LED visible on the equipment but often consumers are not aware that an appliance is consuming standby power. What effect does standby power use have on Australia's total energy use? While the amount of power used by each appliance is relatively small, the large number of appliances involved and the fact that the equipment is generally on all day result in a large amount of power use. It has been estimated that standby power costs Australians more than $950 million a year and accounts for around 10 per cent of household energy consumption. Standby power emerged as an issue around 1990. Since that time equipment remote controls have become widely used and the number of electrical appliances in the home has increased significantly. What are other countries doing about this issue? Australia is not unique with this problem; it affects other developed nations as well. America and Japan have similar programs and our standby targets will align with international targets. This is important as many of the electronic products used in Australia are manufactured overseas. What is the Government going to do about reducing standby power? In 2000, the Ministerial Council on Energy agreed to implement a national program to reduce standby power. The program was prepared after extensive consultation with industry. It is made up of voluntary and mandatory options. Better design of equipment - at the manufacturing stage - can lead to retention of all functions and significant standby power savings. There are three types of standby power being targeted by the program: Active standby mode is where an appliance is turned on and ready for use but is not actually being used. An example is a stereo system that has finished playing a CD. A 2006 report, Standby Power - Current Status, found that, on average, stereo systems consume around 20 watts in this mode. Technology can now reduce this amount of power use quite easily. Passive standby mode is where an appliance is turned off by a remote control and is awaiting instructions to reactivate. The appliance needs to consume power to await a command. Often an appliance can be in this mode for 24 hours a day 7 days a week and the energy consumed is significant. For example the 2006 report Standby Power - Current Status found that, on average, stereo systems consume around 8 watts in this mode. Again, good design can cost effectively reduce this amount significantly. Off mode standby power is where an appliance consumes power even though it is turned off at the appliance switch. Again, the amount of power for each appliance is low but because it is continuous (24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 365 days a year) the amount of energy can be considerable. The report Standby Power - Current Status found that, on average, computer speakers consume around 2 watts in this mode. Australia was the first country to commit to a 1 watt target for standby power. The aim is to achieve a target of 1 watt total standby power consumption for targeted appliances operating in standby mode, which includes all three types of standby power use. Negotiations with industry will take place for specific product types to determine those for which the 1 watt target should apply. An example is for a microwave that has an in- built clock. Most currently use an illuminated clock that alone exceeds the one watt target. LCD displays can meet the requirement but negotiation will take place to determine whether this is feasible, particularly considering that the majority of electrical equipment is made outside of Australia and we are too small a market to drive manufacturers on our own. What are some simple ways of addressing standby power in the home? Some examples of where easy savings can be made include: 1. Mobile phone charger - turn off when not being used. 2. CD player - turn off when not playing CDs 3. Modem, scanners, printers, computer speakers - turn off when the computer is switched off 4. Television - switch off at the television not just at the remote control 5. Kettle (with standby light) switch off at the wall. Sometimes it is not convenient to switch an appliance off at a power point. This is because it may have a clock or timer that needs to be reset or because the power point is not easily accessible. This is why we are encouraging manufacturers to reduce standby power through better design.
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