We can take into account many things to save energy in our homes. For example, we can use more optimized appliances, use home automation to manage the lighting, use programs on devices that consume less… There is something that often comes up in debates: does it consume leaving the television on, in Stand By? In this article we are going to talk about it. We are going to really explain how much this consumes, as well as other similar devices.
Turning off the TV completely saves electricity
When we talk about leaving the television on Stand By or waiting, we mean that it does not turn off completely. We can see a small red light that indicates that the device is waiting for us to give an order. It’s not really turned off completely and even if it’s just a little bit of electricity it’s going to be consuming.
But the same happens with other devices. For example a video player, a screen, etc. It is true that devices are becoming more optimized and this is avoided, for example with automatic shutdown once some time has passed, but it is still something that we can find in our day to day.
This is known as phantom consumption. Leaving a television on standby for a few hours is not really going to mean anything. But of course, how much do you consume throughout the year? Here it helps us OCU calculator, which offers us information on how much various devices consume on standby. You can access it for free, although you will have to register.
Here we can see that a television, on average, consumes 1.61 kWh for a year. This amounts to approximately €0.50. It is a small amount if we compare it with the consumption of a game console, which is around €4.50, or a stereo, which can exceed €10. Other devices such as a decoder or a cordless phone consume about €4.
Therefore, as you can see, the fact of having devices on standby, even if it seems that they are really turned off, supposes a phantom consumption. The more devices of this type you have, the more you spend.
The sum of everything represents a significant saving
If we go back to the example of how much a television consumes on Stand By, it will not really mean much since it is about €0.50 per year on average. There will be models that spend more. But if we have several televisions, if we also have video players, game consoles, a music system… All this is going to have a sum that can be important.
In general, it is estimated that between 7 and 10% of the electricity consumption of a home during a year is produced by these little things. The fact of having devices on, even if they are on standby, can mean an expense each month that we could avoid. In the end, the sum of everything can mean significant savings.
Therefore, if you want to save on your electricity bill, try not to leave the television on Stand By. Ideally, you should turn it off completely and turn it back on when necessary. The same with any other device you have and keep on.
