Do You Leave Your Television On 'standby' All The Time?

[syd barrett]

Do you leave your television set on 'standby' all the time? I do, it has been on 'standby' for more than eight years.

Would turning the button to 'Off' save me any serious money?

[dave_boo]

You'd save more money buying a new TV....things have gotten much more efficient over the last eight years. None the less, you have to weigh the difference-is it worth saving 2-8 Watts and losing the instant on?

[nicholasday]

I don't know for certain but what i have heard is that a TV still uses half the amount of energy when it is on standby as when it is on full. Save the world, save some money turn it off. doesn't take much to just push the main button when you go to bed or leave the house.

[ungcas]

Do you leave your television set on 'standby' all the time? I do, it has been on 'standby' for more than eight years.

Would turning the button to 'Off' save me any serious money?

It's very interesting that this came up. I was reading an article on PC World (or maybe it was PCmag) about leaving devices like vcrs/dvd players/tvs plugged in but on standby. Most of the numbers ranged from $4-$6 if i remember correctly. I think a tv was about $6 or so. These numbers are not large by themselves, but multiplied, they add up quickly.

I'm not sure how accurate these numbers are, and how they would apply to everyone, but it's made me think twice about leaving so many things plugged in while not using them.

[Neeranam]

I turn mine off - why wouldn't you?

[surface]

Do you leave your television set on 'standby' all the time?

No

Would turning the button to 'Off' save me any serious money?

No, it's only using a few watts at most. It'll save you about 50 baht per year, if that.

[Mighty Mouse]

it's only using a few watts at most. It'll save you about 50 baht per year, if that.

Multiply that by all the other devices in your house that are on stand-by, and the cost starts to increase.

Here is an interesting LINK that lists the costs.

It only takes one bend of the body to turn appliances off at the power point.

[polecat]

Multiply that by all the other devices in your house that are on stand-by

OK, the stereo, the dvd player... er... what else are you likely to leave on standby?

edit:

Actually, just read the link. Makes some good points.

Edited March 13, 2009 by polecat

[dave_boo]

it's only using a few watts at most. It'll save you about 50 baht per year, if that.

Multiply that by all the other devices in your house that are on stand-by, and the cost starts to increase.

Here is an interesting LINK that lists the costs.

It only takes one bend of the body to turn appliances off at the power point.

Unfortunately not everyone has British style mains. Pretty much everywhere I've been in LOS has had US style, usually without the ground plug (or if it's in place it's not actually connected to a sai din-was quite a test of my patience trying to get the wife and contractor to understand the importance of that when the house was being erected). 'Tis a pity because now that I've been exposed to the British style I realise just how bad the US plugs are. Weak prongs, sticking straight out of the wall, and no convient off switch are 3 quick things that come to mind.

I leave my stuff on standby. For one thing, the TV is rarely off. Thai in-laws that live next door make sure of that. A dvd/surround sound unit is on standby and the satellite receiver is always on. Throw in the WI-FI/CAT modem and I'm not doing too bad....

I still stand by my assertion though; worry about the cost of standby is dwarfed by the energy usage whilst fully powered on. Old tube style TVs suck down much more power than newer LCD models. While the cost of buying a new TV will take some time to be offset by the savings, you could break even faster by selling your old one.

[wpcoe]

My TV and DVD player are on a power strip which has an on/off switch. I simply switch off the power strip and it stops the standby-mode drain of the TV and DVD.

I do the same for my computer. Most motherboards continue to trickle electricity through them if you don't sever the power supply.

[Gary A]

I always leave it on standby but my wife turns it off along with the satellite decoder. As a compromise, I, like wpcoe, now use a power strip and shut them off together.

[Lantern]

Having lived with various solar systems for the last twenty years I do not do anything that is wastefull of electricity. Solar panels are not cheap.

[villagefarang]

Put me in the power strip category. Started switching things off in lightning storms and it has become a habit at night and when we leave the house.

[sumrit]

it's only using a few watts at most. It'll save you about 50 baht per year, if that.

Multiply that by all the other devices in your house that are on stand-by, and the cost starts to increase.

Here is an interesting LINK that lists the costs.

It only takes one bend of the body to turn appliances off at the power point.

I don't know how old the figures are in this link are but they're not up to date. I stopped work about five years now so it was before then that an EU rule came out that said all domestic electronic appliances (tv's, dvd's, satelite/digital boxes, hi fi's, etc) must all consume less than one watt whilst in standby mode. I remember that when visiting various manufacturers technical departments they were up in arms at the time because they had to redesign their power supply systems to conform to the new rules (even though they'd had three or four years notice of the impending change in the law).

Incidentally the LG lcd television I bought recently doesn't have an on/off switch on it, it will only go into standby. If you want to turn it off you have to unplug it from the mains socket.

[prakhonchai nick]

My wife constantly turns the TV off. Now the on/off switch is buggered through constant use, and a repair will no doubt cost far more than the extra electricity used through leaving it on stand-by!

[wpcoe]

My wife constantly turns the TV off. Now the on/off switch is buggered through constant use, and a repair will no doubt cost far more than the extra electricity used through leaving it on stand-by!

After the repair/replacement, get a power strip. If the on/off switch on a power strip gets "buggered" (ouch!) it's cheaper to replace.

I probably don't need to point out that adding a power strip might be less stressful than trying to change your wife's habits.

[Chaimai]

My wife constantly turns the TV off. Now the on/off switch is buggered through constant use, and a repair will no doubt cost far more than the extra electricity used through leaving it on stand-by!

Mine, like many Thai partners, is constantly turning the bloody thing on

The sooner mine is buggered the better

[Johnxxx]

I am afraid if one US fighter jet starts in Afghanistan it will use more energy than I can use with stand-by in my entire life. So what you really want to save? Some people say - it adds up. They should say do not start the fighter jets...or the plane of GWB, now Obama, or... We should not start at the stand-by.

[Mosha]

From the BBC's Click on line 2006

Figures from the Energy Saving Trust on standby power use in the UK home are astonishing:

Stereos on standby cost £290m and produce 1.6 million tonnes of CO2

VCRs and DVD cost £194m and produce 1.06 million tonnes of CO2

TVs on standby cost £88m and produce 480,000 tonnes of CO2

[sumrit]

From the BBC's Click on line 2006

Figures from the Energy Saving Trust on standby power use in the UK home are astonishing:

Stereos on standby cost £290m and produce 1.6 million tonnes of CO2

VCRs and DVD cost £194m and produce 1.06 million tonnes of CO2

TVs on standby cost £88m and produce 480,000 tonnes of CO2

Are these worldwide figures?

How do these figures compare to the same pieces of equipment being on for the same lengths of time?

the relative cost varies greatly depending on the age of the equipment being used. What was the 'sample equipment' they used to calculate these figures and how old was it?

These are just a few of the many questions that went through my mind as I read your post.

Organisations always trot out large figures to try to impress (or scare) people but they mean very little on their own.