10 Facts About Standby power

Standby power, called vampire power, vampire draw, phantom load, ghost load or leaking electricity, refers to the way electric power is consumed by electronic and electrical appliances while they are switched off or in standby mode.

All of the above examples, such as the remote control, digital clock functions and—in the case of adapters, no-load Standby power—are switched off just by switching off at the Standby power point.

Up to the middle of the decade, standby power was often several watts or even tens of watts per appliance.

Standby power is electrical power used by appliances and equipment while switched off or not performing their primary function, often waiting to be activated by a remote controller.

That Standby power is consumed by internal or external Standby power supplies, remote control receivers, text or light displays, circuits energized when the device is plugged in even when switched off.

Disconnecting standby power proper is at worst inconvenient; powering down completely, for example an answering machine not dealing with a call, renders it useless.

Standby power is often consumed for a purpose, although in the past there was little effort to minimize power used.

Standby power makes up a portion of homes' miscellaneous electric load, which includes small appliances, security systems, and other small power draws.

Total standby power can be estimated by measuring total house power with all devices standing by, then disconnected, but this method is inaccurate and subject to large errors and uncertainties.

Professional equipment capable of low-Standby power measurements clarifies typically that the error is a percentage of full-scale value, or a percentage of reading plus a fixed amount, and valid only within certain limits.