Energy Education:
Concepts & Practices
Unit 4: Energy Through Our Lives – Part II
Section G. Leaking Electricity
Are your appliances leaking electricity? Some of you might not be familiar with what this means. Not only do we have more small- and medium-sized appliances than ever before, but many of these never really stop using electricity. For example, if the television has a remote, then part of the TV is always on, waiting for a signal from the remote. If there is a clock on the microwave, then the microwave is always using some electricity. Experts call this usage “standby consumption” or “leaking electricity” because people are often not aware that the appliance is using electricity.
A single appliance usually leaks only a small amount of electricity each hour (see Leaking Watts Chart below). Since these appliances leak electricity whenever they are not turned on, and since people have a lot of these appliances, the amount of leaking electricity is significant. The average household spends about $40 a year on leaking electricity. The federal government works with appliance manufacturers to reduce the amount of electricity that leaks out of new appliances.
Leaking Watts Chart
Standby Consumption of Some Residential Appliances
| Type of Appliance |
Minimum (Watts) |
Average (Watts) |
Maximum (Watts) |
| Air Conditioner |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
| Alarm Clock |
0.7 |
1.3 |
2.0 |
| Amplifier |
0.0 |
1.4 |
5.5 |
| Answering Machine |
1.8 |
3.0 |
5.2 |
| Answering Machine/Cordless Phone |
2.5 |
2.8 |
3.1 |
| ATX PC |
1.3 |
2.1 |
2.8 |
| Baby Monitor |
0.7 |
1.2 |
1.6 |
| Battery Charger |
0.2 |
1.4 |
3.2 |
| Boom Box |
0.7 |
2.2 |
7.7 |
| Cable Box |
4.8 |
11.6 |
18.0 |
| Cassette Deck |
0.0 |
2.8 |
6.6 |
| CD Player |
0.0 |
3.1 |
8.0 |
| Clock Radio |
0.9 |
1.7 |
3.2 |
| Cordless Phone |
1.1 |
2.7 |
5.0 |
| Dishwasher |
6.4 |
6.4 |
6.4 |
| DSS |
11.3 |
15.0 |
18.4 |
| DVD Player |
1.6 |
4.3 |
7.1 |
| Equalizer |
0.0 |
3.1 |
5.9 |
| Garage Door Opener |
3.5 |
3.8 |
4.0 |
| Internet Appliance |
7.5 |
7.5 |
7.5 |
| Linear Power Supply |
0.3 |
1.3 |
3.2 |
| Macintosh PC |
0.0 |
2.0 |
3.5 |
| Massager |
1.1 |
2.7 |
4.2 |
| Microwave Oven |
1.6 |
3.2 |
6.0 |
| Mini Disc |
4.5 |
4.8 |
5.1 |
| Mini Audio System |
1.3 |
9.3 |
28.6 |
| Modem (external) |
1.0 |
1.4 |
1.8 |
| Phone/Fax/Copier Combo |
3.3 |
4.7 |
6.5 |
| Power PC |
1.3 |
1.5 |
1.6 |
| Power Speaker |
0.0 |
1.6 |
3.1 |
| Preamp/Tuner |
1.4 |
2.4 |
3.2 |
| Printer |
3.5 |
3.5 |
3.5 |
| Range |
1.8 |
3.0 |
4.1 |
| Receiver |
0.0 |
1.8 |
5.9 |
| Rice Cooker |
1.5 |
2.0 |
2.5 |
| Security System |
15.0 |
18.3 |
21.5 |
| Shaver |
0.4 |
0.9 |
1.4 |
| Television |
0.0 |
4.3 |
12.3 |
| Tuner |
0.0 |
2.0 |
4.0 |
| TV/VCR Combo |
2.5 |
9.8 |
19.5 |
| Battery-Powered Vacuum Cleaner |
1.7 |
2.1 |
2.6 |
| VCR |
1.5 |
5.6 |
12.8 |
| Video Game |
0.0 |
1.1 |
2.0 |