STANDBY POWER
Standby power is the power used by electrical products while they are waiting to be fully activated. It is a feature on many appliances such as televisions, computers, videos and DVD players/recorders. Standby power consumption generally accounts for over 10 per cent of Australia’s household electricity usage, generating more than 5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per annum (AGO 2002).
Table 5.18 illustrates common non-white goods in households and the number of units that were usually switched on and ready to use. Almost one-fifth of households with televisions (18%) had three or more switched on and ready to use.