On Friday, US Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz announced new national energy efficiency guidelines for microwave ovens, which will reduce standby (or “vampire”) power use. In addition, the completion of this long-delayed rule signals that the White House and the Department of Energy (DOE) are ready to stop the delays that have plagued new efficiency standards in recent years.
Let’s start with microwave ovens.
Microwave energy waste can be reduced to almost nil with a few simple tweaks. Over the course of a year, a typical microwave only spends roughly 70 hours heating up food. The microwave consumes energy continually for the remaining 8,690 hours (99 percent of the time) to power the clockdisplay and electronic controls. Microwaves, on the other hand, waste more energy than others. Microwaves that squander the most energy in standby mode use roughly 4 watts of power, which adds up to about 35 kilowatt-hours (kWh) each year. For most microwaves, the new efficiency guidelines, which go into effect in 2016, will limit standby power consumption to just 1 watt.
Given that 95% of homes have a microwave, the little savings from each microwave build up quickly. On a national basis, DOE forecasts that the new microwave standards will save customers $3.4 billion over the next 30 years and cut electricity use by nearly 69 billion kWh, which is equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of about 6 million US residences.
Changing the cooking sensors in some microwaves, which inform the microwave when to shut off during a cooking cycle, is one simple approach to reduce microwave vampire power. Because they must be maintained warm, traditional cookingsensors consume roughly 1-2 watts of power on a constant basis. A newer type of steam sensor performs the same functions as previous cooking sensors while using no standby energy. Improving the power supply and control board efficiency are two other simple ways to reduce standby power.
Microwave ovens are just one of the gadgets that have seen vampire energy waste curbed because to efficiency measures. Since a 2007 energy law mandated that the Department of Energy include standby energy use in new efficiency criteria, the agency has focused on six products: clothes washers, dryers, dishwashers, room air conditioners, central air conditioners, and furnaces.
The first-ever national norm for external power supply was set by the same 2007 energy law. You may have noticed that the power supply that came with your latest cell phone and other electronics have become less bulky and lighter since then. They also don’t get as hot to the touch as older power supply, resulting in reduced energy waste.
DOE should finish new power supply standards later this year, which will save even more. The Department of Energy is also working on new battery charger standards, which power anything from portable power tools to cordless phones to electric toothbrushes. Existing California state requirements for battery chargers are already having an impact on the national market, and we anticipate that national standards will be on par with, if not beyond, the California energy waste restrictions. Because battery chargers consume energy even when the device is not charging a battery, these new guidelines will help to reduce vampire energy waste.
This leads us to the second piece of good news in this announcement: The White House and the Department of Energy realize the importance of increasing efficiency in order to accomplish the president’s energy goals. On Friday, Heather Zichal, Deputy Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change, blogged from the White House on how making appliances more efficient could “help Americans keep more money in their pockets…curb pollution and spur innovation…” “Applianceefficiency requirements represent a significant potential to help families save money by saving energy while still delivering high quality appliances to consumers,” Secretary Moniz said upon unveiling the microwave guidelines.
Zichal and Moniz have a lot of work ahead of them. The new microwave standard is one of eight that the DOE has missed completion deadlines for in the last two years, as we reported in January. DOE completed new transformer standards in April before setting the microwave standard. The Office of Management and Budget has yet to approve four more, which involve commercial refrigeration and lighting products. New standards for external power sources and battery chargers, as well as new industrial motor standards, are still being developed at DOE. However, with the completion of a strong new microwave oven standard, it appears that this administration is resuming its efforts to improve energy efficiency.
In standby mode, how much energy does a microwave consume?
Hours Used Per Day: Enter the average number of hours the device is used per day; if the power usage is less than 1 hour per day, enter the number as a decimal. (For instance, 30 minutes each day equals 0.5.)
Price (kWh): Enter the average cost per kilowatt hour; our calculators assume a value of 0.10 or 10 cents as a default. Check your electric bill or go to Global Electricity Prices to get an exact price.
A microwave uses 2 to 7 watts of power in standby mode, in addition to utilizing energy while cooking or heating. This energy is used to show the time and wait for a command from the user. A microwave utilizing 4 watts in 24/7 standby mode will use 35 kWh in a year. While this is not a large amount of energy, if you are going to be gone for an extended period of time, you should consider disconnecting your microwave to save energy.
Do microwaves consume electricity when they are not in use?
Because, despite the fact that heating food consumes more than 100 times the energy required to run a clock, most microwave ovens sit idle in “standby mode” for more than 99 percent of the time.
On standby, what consumes the most electricity?
Appliances must require electricity to be “on alert” in order to receive a remote control signal. Based on research conducted by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory on Standby Power, I’ll list the watts used while ‘turned off’, if applicable.
Surprisingly, the amount of energy used when ‘off’ is often comparable to the amount of energy used when ‘on.’ When turned on, the average LCD computer monitor consumes 55 watts, a notebook computer consumes 73 watts, and a CFL light bulb consumes 18 watts.
Most of us would guess that the most prevalent standby electrical vampire culprits are:
- 10.58 W DVD or Blu-ray players
- 43.61 W DVR with cable
- 33.05 W satellite TV box
- 30.6 W cable box
- 63.74 W for a video game console (off, but ready)
- Garage door opener (I hadn’t considered this!): 7.3 W
Does standby consume a lot of power?
- Devices that are on standby. When you click the ON button on your TV’s remote control, the TV must already be receiving some power in order to receive and respond to the ON signal. It’s a “standing by, waiting for you to use the remote to turn it on. DVD players, stereos, and microwave ovens are among the items that use standby power while waiting for a button to be pressed. Modern devices, on the other hand, utilize very little energy in standby mode. In standby mode, televisions manufactured after 2006 utilize less than 1 watt.
- Adapters that can be plugged in. The huge black blocks that convert AC to DC are these. Even when the gadget they’re powering is switched off, some of them draw some current (or in the case of chargers, even when the phone or device is fully charged). It wastes a small amount of electricity if the adapter is warm even after the device is turned off.
- Devices that never stop working, even when you’re not utilizing them “making use of them Even if you’re not watching TV, cable boxes and DVRs are continuously on, and video gaming consoles are always monitoring the Internet for news and software updates. Older models used a lot of standby power, but newer models use a lot less.
In standby mode, most current devices use less than 1 watt, and many of them use less than 0.5 watts. The average American household, on the other hand, consumes 11,040 kWh per year. As a result, standby power for one device accounts for only 0.08 percent of total household energy consumption. Even if a home has twelve of these devices, they contribute for less than 1% of total household usage. So, unless you’ve already taken care of your heating, cooling, washing, lighting, and computer, chasing standby power is usually a waste of time.
When nothing is connected into a modern charger, it goes to zero (or very near to zero). At current electricity rates, even a charger that uses one watt when idle and is plugged in all the time would only cost approximately $1 per year. What about ancient devices and adapters, though? When they’re idle, they use a little more energy, but the difference isn’t significant unless you have a lot of them. If a modern item that wastes 1 watt when idle costs around $1 per year to leave plugged in all the time, an older equipment that wastes 10 watts when idle costs only about $10 per year to leave plugged in all the time. Savings aren’t the easiest to come by.
Oh, but have you heard that the true punishment is leaving your phone plugged in after it’s completed charging? They utilized only 1 watt when charging three phones at the same time. (All three utilized a total of 8 watts when charging.) Two of the phones were from the year 2004.
Unplugging some things is a good idea, but phone chargers aren’t one of them. Unplugging (or turning on a switch) will save you money:
- DVRs and cable TV boxes A cable TV box + DVR combo is likely draining roughly 50 watts of power 24/7 if it isn’t an Energy Star model built in 2013 or later. That is roughly the cost of an Energy Star refrigerator.
- Anything with an always-on light (unless it’s an LED light, in which case it’s fine).
- Pumps for water. If you have a water pump, there’s definitely a reason for it, but at the very least set it on a timer so it doesn’t run continuously.
How much money does unplugging the microwave save you?
According to the US Department of Energy, disconnecting devices that aren’t in use can save homeowners between $100 and $200 per year. An item that consumes one watt of energy costs around one dollar per year to operate.
What is the cost of running a microwave for an hour?
The cost of operating a microwave should not be determined by its cooking capacity. Unfortunately, many resources do this.
More precise microwave operating costs, based on 203 models, are provided below, along with a handy calculator to assist you in calculating your personal operating expenses.
You’ll also learn about five simple strategies to cut the cost of running your microwave.
Spoilers:
- Microwaves typically cost $0.21 per hour or $0.0035 per minute to operate.
- A high-powered countertop microwave can cost up to 44 cents per hour ($0.0074 per minute).
- 15 cents per hour ($0.0025 per minute) is the most common cost of running a compact microwave.
- Microwaves are expensive to operate, with the most frequent hourly cost equating to roughly two days of running an air purifier.
- The Toshiba ML-EM45PIT(BS) microwave is a standout in terms of energy efficiency, making it less expensive to operate.
- Look it up on Amazon.
In a microwave, what is standby mode?
In general, a microwave’s standby power is the amount of electricity it consumes when it is plugged in but not in use. Consider the energy necessary to run the clock display. The Compliance Certification Database website of the US Department of Energy (DOE) provides standby power for specific models.
When appliances are turned off, which ones use the most electricity?
- Television. You’ll consume significantly less electricity if you have a new LED-lit television than if you have an older one. Modern televisions, on the other hand, waste electricity even when they are switched off. To prevent electricity from flowing, unplug them or purchase a surge protector.
- Computers. You could be wasting a lot of electricity if you keep your computer or laptop plugged in to charge overnight. That power cord will continue to draw electricity even when it is turned off.
- Phones. Leaving your phone plugged in overnight to charge is also a poor idea. The phone will continue to drain electricity even at full power, raising your electric bill.
- Stereos. Even when not in use, almost any sort of stereo equipment will draw electricity as long as it is plugged in.
- Microwaves and coffee makers are two of the most common household appliances. Even when they aren’t in use, these kitchen gadgets need electricity to power a digital display.
- Lamps from the past. When the lights are turned off, a plugged-in lamp draws additional electricity.
What is the energy consumption of standby devices?
Modest appliances, security systems, and other small power draws make up a percentage of a home’s miscellaneous electric load, which also includes standby power. In 2008, the US Department of Energy stated:
“When many appliances are turned off, they continue to take a little amount of power. Most appliances that require power, such as VCRs, televisions, stereos, computers, and kitchen appliances, have “phantom” loads. This can be avoided by either disconnecting the device or utilizing a power strip with a switch to turn off all electricity to the appliance.”
Older gadgets can use up to 1015 W in standby mode, but a current HD LCD television may use less than 1 W in standby mode. When some appliances are turned off, they don’t use any energy. Many countries that have signed on to the One Watt Initiative have mandated that new products use no more than 1 W starting in 2010, and 0.5 W in 2013.
Although the power required for functions such as displays, indicators, and remote control functions is relatively low, the large number of such devices and their constant plugged-in status resulted in energy consumption ranging from 8 to 22 percent of total appliance consumption in various countries, or 32 to 87 W, prior to the One Watt regulations.
This accounted for almost 310 percent of total household consumption. In 2004, standby modes on electronic devices accounted for 8% of all home power consumption in the United Kingdom. In a comparable research conducted in France in 2000, standby power was found to account for 7% of total home usage.
The California Energy Commission published a report in 2004 that included average standby and operational power usage for 280 various household gadgets, such as baby monitors and toothbrush chargers.
Microwaves, CRTs, and VHS players all utilized more standby power in 2006 than appliances made in the previous five years.
In 2019, the average residence in the United States consumed 10,649 kWh of power per year, down from 11,040 kWh in 2008. A continuous watt of power consumption by a device consumes around 9 kWh (1 W365. 25 days a year (24 hours per day) is about a thousandth of the annual US household consumption. For each watt of continuous consumption, unplugging a gadget that is always consuming standby power saves 9 kWh per year (saving $1 per year at average US rates).
Security systems, fire alarms, and digital video recorders, for example, require continuous power to function correctly (though in the case of electric timers used to disconnect other devices on standby, they actually reduce total energy usage). Reduce standby power consumption by reading the Reducing Consumption section below.
How can I cut down on my standby power usage?
Did you realize that your plugged-in TV, computer, and other gadgets are quietly draining electricity all day, every day, even when they’re turned off? Standby power is the amount of electricity consumed by products when they are turned off or in standby mode. While it may go unnoticed, standby power is a major concern. It contributes for 5% to 10% of residential energy consumption and might cost the average American household up to $100 per year.
Here are three simple steps you can take right now to save money and lower your standby power loads:
- Switches should be used with a power strip. To plug in your appliances, utilize a power strip with on/off controls. Surge protector power strips are often equipped with such switches, which serve to protect your appliances and devices. When you plug all of your products into a power strip and turn it off when they’re not in use, they’re genuinely turned off.
- Unplug all of your devices. Unplugging your products is another surefire approach to lower your standby power demand. Some products, such as the digital alarm clock in your bedroom or the refrigerator, will need to be left plugged in. However, some gadgets, such as a toaster oven, may not require being plugged in.
- Use ENERGY STAR goods if possible. Many ENERGY STAR products are more energy efficient and use less standby power than non-ENERGY STAR counterparts.
So there you have it: three easy strategies to minimize or eliminate standby power while also saving money!
