Power on standby

[Aquagility]

How much power does a TV, PC, or Mobile phone charger take while on standby? And how about a cordless (landline) phone when on its cradle?

[Everhelpful]

Minimal,not worth bothering about.

[mikeyp]

The Times had this article:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-2 261983,00.html

The most intersting fact I noticed was that he power wasted by phone chargers plugged in in Britain each year could power 66,000 homes. It doesn't mention cordless phones, though other sites suggest they fall into the energy wasting catagory too.

Clearly each household's contribution to this is small. But it's the combined effort that counts.

The BBC mentions that an average PC on standby consumes about 10-15 Watts. A few similar appliances and you have a 60W bulb's power being used unecessarily.

[Eurox]

But most people leave it on standby in the world and thats what contributes global warming. All the energy of all the tv's on standby could light a city for a year, thats how much energy is being wasted so please, turn your tv off standby.

[Aquagility]

I tend to agree with Everhelpful, but maybe for different reasons.
People who never stop nagging tend to say "what if everybody did it/stopped doing it". Point taken, but in this case my action/inaction won't persuade anybody else to change.
So what I do has no significance whatsoever. The only consideration is the cost to me and whether I think it worthwhile.
If stand-by buttons are to be made illegal, that's an entirely different kettle of fish!

[edwardian]

A similar question was asked on our local radio station this morning. The 'expert' reckoned that a television,Freeview receiver,Sky box and vcr left on standby would cost �11.60 a year.

[mikeyp]

I'm not sure that whether your action/inaction brings about a change in others is the point of the "what if everybody did that" argument.

I give a set amount to charity each month. I know that whether I do or not will not affect the giving of others at all. I also know that the charity to which i donate receives millions of pounds each year, so my contribution is minuscule in comparison. Does this mean that my giving to charity has absolutely no significance whatsoever? I'm not convinced.

It's not about whether you can effect others, or whether your contribution makes a noticable difference. It's about changing anyway and hoping others do the same. At least for me it is.

[Aquagility]

I know, mikeyp. Yes, I give too. But I can't persuade myself that it makes one iota of difference. Too many starving children out there. If I had the courage I might try chaining myself to the railings, but that wouldn't make any difference, either. Sad.

[tMark20002]

There is another side to this debate. First in Winter. On standby, the devices radiate the power as heat. Assuming that you have some form of thermostatically controlled heating, then leaving things on standby just reduces your actual heating consumption

Different story in summer though as, if you have aircon, it will work harder.

[heathfield]

I used one of those power meters and found that my (tube type) TV was costing me �30 a year for the total time it was on stand-by only.

[Aquagility]

Thanks, all of you who took part in this debate.