Unplugging the TV and devices when you’re not using them can save you over $30 per year.
Here’s how much you’re free to save by unplugging them.
First, let’s look at the averages for various devices.
Then we’ll estimate how much it costs to idle them 24/7 for a year.
The Television: Standby Load ~10W
Let’s start with the TV itself.
How muchidle standby power TV sets usevaries widely.
Related:How Much Electricity Does Your TV Waste When You’re Not Watching It?
It’s safe to estimate that yours likely uses around 10W.
The Set-Top Box: Standby Load ~10W
Set-top boxes for cable and satellite service arenotorious energy vampires.
Fortunately, since the mid-2010s, the situation has improved a lot.
Related:Do Cable and Satellite Boxes Still Waste Tons of Electricity?
It’s safe to estimate your box is probably using around 10W.
Streaming Sticks: Standby Load ~1W
Streaming sticks, dongles, and boxes use very little power.
Stereo receivers vary wildly in how much standby power they use.
For the purpose of this estimate, we’re sticking with 25W as a middle ground.
Estimating the Idle Load Cost
So let’s put all of those estimated power loads together.
That’s 36W of standby power.
There are 8,760 hours in a year, so we’ll us that are our time value.
Now we simply need to multiply the number of kWh by the price our electric company charges per kWh.
The national average is 12 cents per kWh, so we’ll use that.
There is too much variability between devices to get the true answer without measuring.
Fortunately, it’s unbelievably trivial to accurately measure how much energy household devices use.
Related:Serious About Lowering Your Electric Bill?
Let’s say your setup only wastes $10 in standby power per year.
