Even when everything seems turned off at home, the meter keeps ticking.
Standby TVs, blinking boxes,
chargers left plugged in: this quiet electricity
easily escapes notice. Electricians are now warning their clients about this hidden item, which ends up weighing heavily on the electricity bill.
According to Gestoría Eléctrica Corbalán, devices left in standby mode all year round can account for about 8% of a household’s total electricity expenditure. ADEME, for its part, cites around 10% of a household’s annual electricity consumption. Lemonade reports that this amounts to roughly €80 per year, and up to €180 for highly equipped homes.
Standby consumption: a real electricity bill
This share corresponds to the famous standby consumption, sometimes called “phantom load”. Televisions, internet boxes, TV decoders, routers, game consoles, computers and small power adapters stay connected even when turned off. The Ministry of Ecological Transition notes that a TV or a standby box consumes between 1 and 10 watts continuously, up to 80 kWh per year for a single box.
Many myths still persist, however. The belief that completely cutting power to a device would cause its consumption to spike upon reactivation is dismissed as false by the ministry. It explains: “Turning devices off completely does not incur any extra cost at startup: the consumption is negligible compared with the hours spent in standby.” In other words, every hour saved is a real saving.
Which standby devices weigh the most on the bill?
Not all equipment is equal. Lemonade therefore reminds us: “A device in standby is not a powered-off device.” The biggest energy hogs are the box and TV decoders kept on 24/7, large televisions and recent consoles that download updates. Conversely, a fully charged smartphone or a razor resting on its base weighs very little.
The total of these tiny power draws depends on the number of devices, their age and the time they spend in standby. In a very well‑equipped home, the share can rise beyond the 8–10% mentioned, especially if several screens, consoles and set-top boxes remain on continuously. Modest households with fewer devices naturally sit lower.
Simple steps to track phantom consumption
Reducing this invisible consumption requires neither renovations nor changes to equipment. According to Gestoría Eléctrica Corbalán, many televisions, computers or consoles stay plugged in “for convenience,” whereas a simple switch would suffice. A wattmeter, plugged between the outlet and the device, can measure standby power when needed and identify the worst offenders piece by piece. To act on a daily basis, experts mainly recommend focusing on the living room and the home office area, where most standby activity accumulates.
- Group the screens and set‑top boxes on a switchable power strip.
- Turn off the box at night or during extended absences.
- Unplug chargers and small power adapters that aren’t in use.
As Lemonade sums it up: “By targeting the most energy‑hungry devices, one can reasonably cut this bill by 30% to 50%”.
