TV on Standby

hampshirebabe

I'm not sure if this is the right place to ask this, and I'm sure it been discused before, but I can't find it.
Does it realy save a lot of electricity by switching off your tv at night, not leaving it on satndby? My husband disagrees, and gets cross if I switch it off, he says that new TV's are designed to be left on, and dont use hardly anything overnight.

markjarmuz

According to the Energy Saving Trust:

Although the standby mode consumes far less energy – typically around 3-7W - than the on mode, the combined standby consumption of UK stock represents a significant proportion (15%) of the total TV consumption.

In other words, although people may only watch TV for a few hours a day, all the other hours on standby use up - on average across the UK - 15% of the total.

I always switch off!

Cardew

Your husband is correct.

I have a 28 inch Panasonic and 32 inch Sony - both about 4 years old - and the Panasonic has a standby consumption of 0.9watts and the Sony 0.6watts.

That means if they were both left on 24 hours a day 365 days a year they would use approx £1 in a year(60p and 40p respectively)
Newer TVs have even lower consumption. so you are talking about a very few pence per year for standby.

I don't agree with markjarmuz that the typical consumption on standby is 3-7W for new TVs - look at manufacturers handbooks etc on line and you will see very few(if any) over 1W.( I appreciate he may be quoting from the Energy Saving Trust but they are a pressure group and certainly are not talking about new TVs)

However even using his figures will give a consumtion for 24hours/365 days of £2 - £4.60 a year.

hampshirebabe

Thanks, I hate it when he's right, but glad its not costing too much.

clayts

Rather than thinking about the financial side of things (as one is wont to do) have you thought about the environmental issues. Producing standby electricity still produces carbon dioxide.... From here

i) Never Off (on standby 365 days year)


TV and Video on standby all year round (365 days) and never switched off properly.

Would use on average 102.49 kWh / year.

i) Remember there are 2,350,000 households in Scotland. So across Scotland this would be wasting approximately.

102.49 kWh x 2,350,000 houses = 240,851,500 kWh/year

ii) As mentioned earlier 45% of Scotland's electricity is produced from fossil fuels - so figure needs to be adjusted to reflect this.

0.45 x 240,851,500 kWh / year = 108,383,175 kWh/year

iii) For fossil fuels every kWh of electricity produces 0.97 kg of CO2

0.97kg x 108,383,175 kWh/year = 105,131,679 kg/CO2

Annual CO2 emissions due to leaving TV and Video on Standby.

2.6 % of Household CO2 Emissions (2.6 % of 3,983,250,000 kg)

0.14 % of Total CO2 Emissions (Scottish total = 72,300,000,000 kg)

Admittedly not everyone would leave their TVs in standby in Scotland, but it amkes you think.

Not to mention the fire hazard, should you be really unlucky, eg London and Merseyside Fire Brigades both note :

Faulty domestic appliances such as TVs, washing machines and central heating boilers are another major cause of domestic fires so it is important to make sure they are in good order and well maintained. Do not leave the washing machine on for too long unattended and never leave the TV on standby overnight. Make sure both are switched off when not in use.

Fair enough, these are both extremes, but there's more to standby electricity than just a few quid....sobering thought

angelatgraceland

Consider this instead-anything you leave on standby could be a fire hazard-switch it off at the plug where possible. This was the advice I was given by 2 different electricians over the years. Never mind the pennies-look after your safety.

chris73

Consider why you would need to leave it on stand by in any case!. Whether it uses 1p a year or £1 is immaterial it is USING SOMETHING for which you are paying and getting no benefit whatsoever - plus the more obvious and very real fire risk. Walk a few feet and turn the thing off!

Cardew

chris73 wrote:

Consider why you would need to leave it on stand by in any case!. Whether it uses 1p a year or £1 is immaterial it is USING SOMETHING for which you are paying and getting no benefit whatsoever - plus the more obvious and very real fire risk. Walk a few feet and turn the thing off!

I suggest it is not a "very real fire risk) – it is a very remote fire risk.

There is far more of a fire risk from the wiring in your house, sockets, lights, switches, fuse boxes etc etc. Even the risk from these is minimal.

elvis_bloggs

Clayts .... now you have got me worried, the standby on one of my tellies is never off, only when I'm watching the telly of course, not only am I paying a lot of money out that I don't have to but I'm at risk of getting burnt to a cinder as well. Time for change I think.

Quasar

Let's consider all the appliances we have in our home, that have a little light on all the time they are plugged/switched on.

I have a TV, video, computer, battery charger, barcode scanner (for market research), and others I cannot bother to check and describe. I don't leave any of these on standby.

I burn the extra one or two calories to walk to TV etc and switch them off. Even if I save only a quid or two a year, it's a quid or two in my pocket and come Xmas this pays for the wrapping paper.

If there is an area of expenditure where I am a real cheapskate, it's energy. Improve your pocket by improving the environment, that's my motto.

DonnyDave

I'm of the opinion that if it uses standby power (for no gain), then switch it off. That includes radios (especially portable ones), where the switch on it usually isn't a mains one and will leave the transformer connected to the mains. Mobile phone charges are another example where it's always best to switch off at the wall.