Standby still problematic

Quashing misunderstandings
Every now and then the press carries inaccurate stories about standby power being invisible on electricity bills. The Trust wants to stamp out these types of stories before they become self-perpetuating myths.

New appliances with high standby consumption
Standby power typically accounts for 10-15% of the power used by Danish households today. This figure can be a little lower in the future because many new appliances use less than 1 watt on standby. Unfortunately, there are also examples of new products, for example with poor-quality power supplies, which use more than 1 watt on standby and are also inefficient to use.

In addition, new appliances are appearing on the market where standby can never be reduced in conventional terms because these devices are permanently connected to a network or TV provider, and are therefore always in active standby mode. Examples include advanced digital decoders, which download electronic programme guides and software updates from the digital TV network.

One old-fashioned TV can use EUR 27 of power on standby
There are still many older TVs in homes across Denmark which can use up to 10 watts of power on standby. Just one of these appliances can add up to EUR 27 a year to your electricity bill.

So there are still plenty of reasons for using an AutoPowerOff plug bank or switching off the unit at the wall socket.

Just switch off – electronics won’t be damaged
Many consumers wrongly believe that TV equipment, Internet connections or computers will be damaged if you switch them off completely. But this just isn’t the case: You can’t do any damage by switching off an appliance after you’ve stopped using it.

The latest figures show that electricity consumption associated with the Internet is growing because we are using computers more, and because many people also have an office at home. Consumers can save a lot of money by switching off their Internet connection when they’re not using it.

AutoPowerOff switches off the power
An AutoPowerOff plug bank doesn’t just eliminate standby consumption, it also automatically switches off the power to devices connected to your computer or TV. These can be a printer, scanner, loudspeakers, camera, and work lamp connected to the computer, and VCR, DVD and hard disk recorder connected to the TV.

Look for the Energy Saving Label
The best way of finding energy efficient electrical appliances in stores is to look for the Trust’s Energy Saving Label. Only the 20% most energy efficient appliances with low standby and power consumption qualify for the label, which guarantees that consumers are choosing products that are energy efficient and climate friendly.