Standby
When a computer, a television or a radio is on standby mode it still consumes energy, and a surprising amount of energy given that the appliance is not in use and supposedly ‘at rest’. The energy needed to power the various products on standby can increase household bills by a substantial amount over a year. The EU has decided to set efficiency standards for standby on all products. The aim is to shift from the current standby modes to more technologically advanced ‘passive standby’ and ‘off’ modes that achieve the lowest possible energy consumption levels, eventually moving towards a consumption of 0 Watts.
- Bad standby: wasting dozens of Watts by doing nothing, leaving unused functionalities on and/or remaining connected to networks without clear necessity.
- Smart standby: consuming nearly 0 Watt and leaving the user happy!
- Even smarter: products that we can switched off completely when not in use.
What does the coolproducts campaign want?
• A progressive yet rapid limitation of the allowance for standby modes (down to 0.25 W) and off modes (down to 0.1 W)
• A mandatory auto-power down function to trigger the lowest energy consuming modes when the appliance is not actively used
• A simple way for consumers to disable or limit the fucntions they may not need (such as the increasing network connectivity and wireless modes)
What’s the European Union doing and what’s our position?
An Ecodesign regulation on simple standby and off modes has been passed in 2008. The level of ambition is relatively satisfactory, although some field measurements casted doubts on the enforcement. A preparatory study has covered in 2010 the scope of networked standby modes, which could lead to setting new energy limitations for these modes.
(Last update: May 2011)
Further reading:
- The EU 'Selina' project on standby measurements
- Find out more about the EU process on our expert pages
- Tips for consumers on cutting stand-by waste
- Guidelines from the European Commission.