Is electricity being used when nothing is plugged in? (2023)

Does electricity get used if something is plugged in but not on?

Phantom energy: Do appliances use electricity when plugged in but turned off? The short answer is yes! A variety of different electronic devices and appliances, including televisions, toasters, lamps, and more, when plugged in, can consume electricity even when they're turned off.

You may be surprised to know that many commonly used electric appliances at your home use power when turned OFF. Some electrical devices don't turn OFF and still consume electricity in a standby mode. Electrical appliances consume electricity in standby power mode because of the construction of their power supplies.

The United States Department of Energy reports that homeowners can save anywhere between $100 and $200 each year by unplugging devices not in use. Typically, an item drawing a single watt of energy costs about one dollar to power annually.

But there's an easy solution: Just unplug the appliances when you aren't using them. Unplugging them will stop energy from silently draining out and increasing your bills, saving both electricity and money in the long run.

If you have a modern LED-lit television, you'll use far less electricity than you would using an older counterpart. But even when it's turned off, modern TVs continue to consume electricity. Make sure to unplug them or get a surge protector to block electricity from flowing.

Any appliance that has a LCD panel, light or clock, such as your DVD or DVR player, cable box, television or microwave are still consuming electricity, even when they are off. Devices that have a sleep or standby power mode are never completely off, they just go into standby mode.

It Saves Electricity – Small Amount

Turning a TV off at night completely and removing from standby will save electricity and will save you a small amount of money.

Switching off your TV when not in use will do more to reduce energy usage than anything else. Manufacturers have improved standby efficiency - in most new TVs energy usage is typically below 1 watt - so this is an option if you have a new TV, but if you have an older model, this mode may be using energy unnecessarily.

What appliances should be unplugged when not in use?

You should disconnect your desktop computer, monitor, laptop, printer, scanner, modem, or anything connected to these elements after use. Turn them off every night and when they are not in active use. It means making a habit of unplugging appliances to save energy and not leaving them in standby mode.

The truth is that the consumption is negligible. If you are one of those people who go around the house unplugging every charger that comes your way, you should know that your efforts are worth practically nothing.

Electricity still runs inside an appliance even if it's switched off. If electricity is present, there is always the possibility of something overheating or shorting out. However, it is far more likely that if something was to go wrong it would be whilst the appliance is in use.

Turn your appliances off at the wall

The most effective way to reduce the amount of standby power you use is to turn your devices and appliances off at the wall when you've finished using them.

Heating and cooling are by far the greatest energy users in the home, making up around 40% of your electric bill. Other big users are washers, dryers, ovens, and stoves. Electronic devices like laptops and TVs are usually pretty cheap to run, but of course, it can all add up.

Aging appliances, overdue maintenance on appliances and windows or doors, and running extra appliances that are no longer needed are among the top three culprits that cause high energy bills.

So, the clear winner here is the lightbulb…at least until you multiply that by how many lights you have in your house. Plus, if you still use incandescent bulbs (switch to LEDs ASAP if you do), 2 – 3 will use more electricity than most TVs over the course of the year.

The company told the Logues to always unplug their toaster when it's not in use. The same can be said for your can opener. The reason, both appliances rely on springs, to pop up your toast, and over time those springs can wear down and sag causing the appliance to turn on by itself.

Surge protector power strips typically have such switches and help protect your appliances and electronics If you plug all of your products into a power strip and flip off the power strip when these items are not in use, they are truly off. Unplug Your Products.

Spoilers: The average cost to run a TV is $1.34 per month ($16.04 annually). Per hour, modern TVs cost between $0.0015 and $0.0176 to run, with the average costing $0.0088. Running a TV 24/7 in Standby mode costs between $0.66 and $3.94 per year.

Does leaving things on standby use a lot of electricity?

You may already be aware that appliances continue to drain energy, even when left on standby. However, whilst it's definitely sensible to turn things off rather than leave them on standby, the savings here are relatively small.

Leaving that charger plugged into an outlet all day still uses 0.1 to 0.5 watts per hour. That is also not a lot, but in this case, it's pure waste. If you have a charger at home that's plugged in 24/7, you're costing yourself up to 44 cents in electricity.

Heating and cooling: 45-50%

The largest electricity consumer in the average household is your heating and cooling appliance. By a long shot. Central air conditioners and heaters use tons of energy in order to keep your home set to the right temperature.