Who among us doesn't leave their phone charger plugged in every day, or their TV or microwave on standby? We can't see them, but probably very few hands are raised...
Unfortunately, it's a very common habit that's hard to break, but it has significant repercussions on both our electricity bills and in terms of energy waste and environmental impact. The consumption of appliances on standby, in fact, has a considerable impact on utilities and also on the environment.
If anyone has any doubts, when we talk about appliances on standby, we are referring to all those "red lights" that remain on, even though the appliances are not in use. The most common examples are microwave ovens, televisions, cordless phones, computers, video game consoles, home printers, and so on.
Consumption in numbers
Various statistical analyses show that 8% of a bill's cost comes from the consumption of appliances on standby. We're talking about a global waste of approximately 60 billion euros, and according to estimates, by 2030, 15% of electricity consumption in Europe will be caused precisely by electronic devices on standby (due to the increasing presence of appliances in homes).
As mentioned, this waste doesn't just concern the economic aspect but also the environmental damage, related to all the CO2 emitted to produce energy that, in fact, is not used.
On average, a user's consumption corresponds to approximately 2400 kWh/year. Of this total, the consumption of appliances left on standby or always on is 600 kWh/year. We are talking about 25% of total consumption.
The appliances that "weigh" the most
Of this 25%, a significant portion (about 4%) is consumed by the modem or Wi-Fi router that is always on, while a television turned on for three hours a day and left on standby for the remaining 21 hours consumes about 40% of the energy needed for its operation.
To understand the importance of these figures, just consider that the refrigerator (which, of course, always remains on, except in exceptional cases) accounts for about 15% of annual consumption. This means that the refrigerator's annual consumption is less than all the red lights we leave on.
These are very important estimates, but with some expedients that we can all adopt, it's possible to contain consumption in order to "lighten" the bill and be sustainable.
Here are some tips that may be useful to you:
- remember to unplug your phone charger from the outlet,
- do not use the standby function for all those devices you don't use during the day: TVs, printers, computers, cordless phones, etc.
- if you are out all day for work (or any other reason), remember to unplug the modem (if you are at home, you don't need the Internet!).
Of course, unplugging all the sockets in the house daily is not a pleasant operation, but all you need is to get power strips with a switch and the job is done.
These are a few small measures that will allow you to save on your bill and help the planet.
