Approximately $19 billion worth of electricity, equal to the output of 50 large power plants, is devoured annually by U.S. household electronics, appliances, and other equipment when consumers are not actively using them, according to a groundbreaking study released yesterday by the Natural Resources Defense Council.
The report, “Home Idle Load: Devices Wasting Huge Amounts of Electricity When Not in Active Use,” found most of the devices either plugged in or hard-wired into America’s homes consume electricity around-the-clock, even when the owners are not using them or think they are turned off. The annual cost for this vampire energy drain, which provides little benefit to consumers, ranges from $165 per U.S. household on average to as high as $440 under some utilities’ top-tier rates.
The NRDC study is the first large-scale analysis of idle load use, combining usage data from electric utility smart meters in 70,000 northern California residences with field measurements concentrating on idle loads (an average of 65 devices were found in NRDC’s onsite audit). Idle consumption includes devices in off or “standby” mode but still drawing power (such as furnaces and garage door openers); in “sleep mode” ready to power up quickly (like game consoles); and left fully on but inactive (computers).
Consumers can take such steps to reduce their idle load as using timers, smart power strips, and changing settings on their devices, and manufacturers need to do their part by designing products to minimize energy waste, but ultimately policies like energy efficiency utility programs and standards are needed. Reducing always-on consumption is a low-hanging fruit opportunity to cut climate-warming pollution.
The report also includes a list of 10 common devices with the cost of their worst-case “always-on” loads found in NRDC’s onsite audit and solutions to reduce their annual energy bill cost (rounded to nearest whole dollar). They are: water recirculation pump, up to $93; desktop computer, up to $49; TV, up to $38; cable set-top box, up to $30; audio receiver/stereo, up to $22; printer, up to $11; furnace, up to $8; coffee maker, up to $6; dryer, up to $4; and GFCI outlets, $1 each.