Household Idle power draw

[EchoStache]

Has anyone done a deep dive into their household idle power draw and, more importantly, taken steps to reduce it?

I'm a little shocked at how wasteful we are in this regard.  We are currently on vacation so the house is unoccupied.  The lowest power draw that I see is ~300watts, obviously is spikes up a bit when appliances kick on periodically.  The 300 watt idle power draw is what concerns me.

Over the course of a year, that is 2,600 kWh of electricity, or ~$442 if I pull that much from the grid in a year, or a $286 lower refund for excess solar production.  Either way, I find it absurdly wasteful and financially significant. 

For comparison, my relatives in Germany, 2 adults in a nice sized town home, use 2,100 kWh of electricity per year.  We waste 124% of their total usage by accident.  WTF?

Here are the active appliances that I know draw power spikes on occasion:
1 full size refrigerator
1 full size freezer in the basement. Pretty cool down there so I assume a low duty cycle
1 50 gallon heat pump hot water heater, set to heat pump *only*.
1 small wine fridge set to ~50deg.

Other items that could be contributing:
9 smart LED bulbs...I've read that these have an idle power draw of a few watts each
5 Amazon echo speakers
3 desktop computers(kids)
2 EV chargers
Amazon Fire Stick
Google Nest Doorbell

I've considered purchasing a home energy monitor to chase down where the energy draw is coming from and the ability to monitor things over time.  For big power draws i.e. 100 watts, I'm sure I could just use my solar energy monitor but the smallest increment it displays is 0.1kW or 100 watts, so I'm afraid it won't help at all for identifying the smaller draws.

Honestly, I feel like we should be able to reduce our idle power draw to nearly zero while things are not in use.

Curious if others have been able to reduce their idle use to near zero.  It must be possible since, again, I have relatives whose total annual power use is lower than our mindless, accidental vampire draw.

For less than one years electricity waste, I could purchase an energy monitor that will individually monitor 16 circuits at the panel.

https://www.amazon.com/Emporia-Monitor-Circuit-Electricity-Metering/dp/B08CJGPHL9/ref=sr_1_2?crid=NIWUY65EN9ES&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.ioLNsbeGAgCR5Ms3h6anJFUNn8s1RPntPyhed5QqimBYWFPW_NoM-PjYvMZ3djjBOAs5FJClcV-P6pAWrW3STnfGzZIsX95LHAPzMpgyFok8XtLPchFczHO3EtPq5GizE-XJcW3b_tao8hDtG_UBN9pPWhc4aURPVwLokGu6BQtm-8LVd-QMvfw6i_5tgoBSn8LvtYKo-9hIgLDhvInnnXOfJKDJT6eMfAnRJlpYzcHjB9coaAYitR2PoaFooUrm0fkzs1yyBIeA4Gc4lBBCtYj2cg_HfVAS2WLlxwPoAVc.BZGeneEP-47S9hk_ThakelqQFu1wCh_ERsl-OCRYs6s&dib_tag=se&keywords=emporia&qid=1716970050&sprefix=empori%2Caps%2C293&sr=8-2

[bill1827]

I've been monitoring our electricity consumption for years and monitor every circuit in our house with a combination of a Brultech gem and 3 Iotawatts.

Minimum consumption is about 330W. When the house is unoccupied the average energy use is 9kWhr which translates to an average of about 370W. When we're here the average daily energy use is about 15kWhr or 625W.

Our usage is atypical in that most of the power consumption is computers and computer related stuff (FTTP box, routers, switches, IP cams etc) and the usage isn't going to reduce further as I want the utility that those devices provide. The computers are generally the most power efficient that I can find.

These days almost anything that is powered continuously should have very low consumption <2 W, so your LED bulbs, Amazon Echos, etc shouldn't be using much.
Our EV charger consumes less than 5W at idle.
They air source heat pump consumes 13W at idle.
I would expect fridges and freezers to consume nothing most of the time, although they can be inefficient devices, particularly things like wine fridges.

I would look at the PCs. If they are oldish they and their monitors may well consume a fair amount of power especially if they don't go to standby properly.

[deborah]

Borrow a kill a watt from the library. Last time a discussion like this came up we found that many libraries in many countries have such things that you can borrow, if not whole do it yourself energy audit kits.

[GilesMM]

Many people shut off their water and electricity when on vacation if it is not needed to keep pipes from freezing, etc.  Is that an option?

[bacchi]

I bet it's the wi-fi router and any extenders/mesh boxes you have.

Almost every non-appliance we have is on a power strip. TV and chromecast, stereo, desktop computer, monitors, etc., are all kept off unless needed.

[Fru-Gal]

Ooh, will look into the library tip. Been meaning to buy an Emporia monitor, though.

[Boll weevil]

You may also be setting an unreasonably low baseline by using your German relatives. While square footage of the living area matters, so too does the surface area to the outside. If they share walls with neighbors or have one living directly above, that will reduce the energy usage devoted to heating. And then if they don’t have AC or a clothes dryer, that would further reduce their energy usage.

[Sibley]

Vampire power usage has long been a thing. Electronics often don't actually power down and will draw a bit of power to help them turn on fast. If you're going on vacation, or just not using something for a while, unplug it. I have 2 power strips behind the tv. One is always on and the other I unplug unless I want to watch tv.

OP, based on your list, you should be unplugging the following at minimum:
5 Amazon echo speakers
3 desktop computers(kids)
2 EV chargers
Amazon Fire Stick

You should also be unplugging tvs, dvds, stereos, any other audio/visual equipment you have, etc.

[secondcor521]

Many people shut off their water and electricity when on vacation if it is not needed to keep pipes from freezing, etc.  Is that an option?

How long can a fridge keep food safely cold without electricity?  Or did you mean turning off electricity at the outlet level or branch circuit level?

ETA:  My household base draw appears to be 190 watts, and that may be with the whole house fan on.

[bill1827]

Vampire power usage has long been a thing. Electronics often don't actually power down and will draw a bit of power to help them turn on fast. If you're going on vacation, or just not using something for a while, unplug it. I have 2 power strips behind the tv. One is always on and the other I unplug unless I want to watch tv.

OP, based on your list, you should be unplugging the following at minimum:
5 Amazon echo speakers
3 desktop computers(kids)
2 EV chargers
Amazon Fire Stick

You should also be unplugging tvs, dvds, stereos, any other audio/visual equipment you have, etc.

If they are very old devices standby power might be an issue, but recent devices it isn't.

Amazon Echo 3rd generation speakers consume 1.8W in sleep mode (0.184W in Off mode, which no one will use).
Amazon Fire TV consumes 2.2W in network standby mode.

In the context of 300W these are negligible amounts and not worth worrying about.

Presumably the EV chargers are level 2 devices and hard wired so unplugging wouldn't be an option, in any case the standby consumption should be less than 5W which I don't think is worth worrying about, in context. Consulting the manufacturers specification should confirm the standby consumption.

The computers are quite likely to be energy hogs but a plugin meter will easily check that.

[Highbeam]

First, how are you measuring the 300 watt base load if you don't have a monitor already?

I have a monitor but it only monitors one circuit, the main circuit to the house but it samples every six seconds and is accurate to 1 watt. My base load is about 250 watts. I turn on a 9 watt light bulb and it reads 259 watts. Pretty cool.

I was also bothered by the base load. So I started shutting off circuits and noting how many watts each circuit used on stand by. Then I went along those circuits looking for the big ones.

I couldn't find any smoking guns but one thing I remember from this exercise is that GFCI outlets used like 6 watts each. Pop the test button to shut them off and the meter gave me back 6 watts.

You don't need to monitor 16 circuits at once. A whole home monitor that just looks at the total consumption is much cheaper and easier to install. 

One last thought, though your german friends use very little energy per month you have not determined what their base load is. It might be quite high but there non-idle needs are also much lower.

[RWD]

We idle around 700W. Computers and networking equipment are more than half of that.

[Sibley]

Vampire power usage has long been a thing. Electronics often don't actually power down and will draw a bit of power to help them turn on fast. If you're going on vacation, or just not using something for a while, unplug it. I have 2 power strips behind the tv. One is always on and the other I unplug unless I want to watch tv.

OP, based on your list, you should be unplugging the following at minimum:
5 Amazon echo speakers
3 desktop computers(kids)
2 EV chargers
Amazon Fire Stick

You should also be unplugging tvs, dvds, stereos, any other audio/visual equipment you have, etc.

If they are very old devices standby power might be an issue, but recent devices it isn't.

Amazon Echo 3rd generation speakers consume 1.8W in sleep mode (0.184W in Off mode, which no one will use).
Amazon Fire TV consumes 2.2W in network standby mode.

In the context of 300W these are negligible amounts and not worth worrying about.

Presumably the EV chargers are level 2 devices and hard wired so unplugging wouldn't be an option, in any case the standby consumption should be less than 5W which I don't think is worth worrying about, in context. Consulting the manufacturers specification should confirm the standby consumption.

The computers are quite likely to be energy hogs but a plugin meter will easily check that.

1.8W does not equal zero and 100 pennies equals a dollar. Just because it's less than it was 10 years ago doesn't mean its zero. If you want to waste your pennies, they are your pennies to waste. In the meantime, I am going to unplug the tv when I'm not using it for months at a time, and I don't have the smart home stuff at all because I don't like being spied on in my house. I also don't have an EV charging station, but if I did I would certainly consider pulling that breaker if I was going to be out of town.

It's not just power usage. Power surges are also a thing, though how big a concern they are will vary considerably. The safest option is to unplug.

[malachite]

 After I have repeatedly wondered aloud about my house's power draw, my wife got me a individual circuit profiler (the same one OP proposed to use) for Christmas last year. I already knew from using a kilowatt that a lot of the 'vampire' loads people talk about were not drawing more than a Watt or two a piece (and many for less than that), meaning these were not our problem, even in aggregate.

After hooking up the profiler, I learned the following:

• Computers take a fair amount of power, but laptops generally take a lot less than desktops when idle
• LED lighting is REALLY efficient. After switching the entire house over to LED bulbs, the lighting part of our power budget is a rounding error
• Most things like cell phone chargers, DVD players, etc (at least in our house) were not important 'vampire' devices. All of them added together was a fraction of a single desktop computer
• We have an active fan radon mitigation system. This consumes about 65W all day every day.

Looking at the numbers for April, our power breakdown was about:

• 30% Computers
• 20% Gecko enclosure (lights + heat lamp)
• 10% Radon Fan
• 5%[each] Refrigerator, Freezer, AC, Clothes Drier
• 2.5%[each] Furnace Blower, Dishwasher, Well Pump, Induction Cooktop
• 10% Lights+ All other devices

The lesson I learned from this:
(1) Consider operating cost next time I build a desktop computer.
(2) Geckos cost a lot to get setup in a good enclosure, and then just keep costing once you have them -- don't get a gecko if you don't want to spend money
(3) Do convert all commonly used lighting to LEDs
(4) Don't go overboard trying to make sure devices are unplugged when not in use. In my experience the difference between perfect vigilance and literally no effort at all is 10s of KW/h per month. With the low price of power where we live, I can find more efficient ways to save a couple dozen bucks a year.

[Dicey]

Lol, we were away last week. Yesterday, I got an email from the power company congratulating us on reducing our energy usage by...15%. Whomp, whomp.

[bill1827]

Vampire power usage has long been a thing. Electronics often don't actually power down and will draw a bit of power to help them turn on fast. If you're going on vacation, or just not using something for a while, unplug it. I have 2 power strips behind the tv. One is always on and the other I unplug unless I want to watch tv.

OP, based on your list, you should be unplugging the following at minimum:
5 Amazon echo speakers
3 desktop computers(kids)
2 EV chargers
Amazon Fire Stick

You should also be unplugging tvs, dvds, stereos, any other audio/visual equipment you have, etc.

If they are very old devices standby power might be an issue, but recent devices it isn't.

Amazon Echo 3rd generation speakers consume 1.8W in sleep mode (0.184W in Off mode, which no one will use).
Amazon Fire TV consumes 2.2W in network standby mode.

In the context of 300W these are negligible amounts and not worth worrying about.

Presumably the EV chargers are level 2 devices and hard wired so unplugging wouldn't be an option, in any case the standby consumption should be less than 5W which I don't think is worth worrying about, in context. Consulting the manufacturers specification should confirm the standby consumption.

The computers are quite likely to be energy hogs but a plugin meter will easily check that.

1.8W does not equal zero and 100 pennies equals a dollar. Just because it's less than it was 10 years ago doesn't mean its zero. If you want to waste your pennies, they are your pennies to waste. In the meantime, I am going to unplug the tv when I'm not using it for months at a time, and I don't have the smart home stuff at all because I don't like being spied on in my house. I also don't have an EV charging station, but if I did I would certainly consider pulling that breaker if I was going to be out of town.

It's not just power usage. Power surges are also a thing, though how big a concern they are will vary considerably. The safest option is to unplug.

1.8W continuous is 16kWh per year, over here that's about £4.80. Compared to the other expenses that running a house involves that is a trivial amount and to save it you are going to have to go to quite a lot of trouble. I'm all for saving energy and waste but there is a balance between the amount you save and the effort and inconvenience involved is not worth it to me.

I assumed that you were suggesting unplugging everything when not in use. Leaving your house unattended for months is a completely different kettle of fish and I would probably disable a number of devices if that was to happen.

If your power supply is at significant risk of stability issues I would address that first; we have a very stable supply here and 'power surges' aren't an issue.

[Sibley]

Vampire power usage has long been a thing. Electronics often don't actually power down and will draw a bit of power to help them turn on fast. If you're going on vacation, or just not using something for a while, unplug it. I have 2 power strips behind the tv. One is always on and the other I unplug unless I want to watch tv.

OP, based on your list, you should be unplugging the following at minimum:
5 Amazon echo speakers
3 desktop computers(kids)
2 EV chargers
Amazon Fire Stick

You should also be unplugging tvs, dvds, stereos, any other audio/visual equipment you have, etc.

If they are very old devices standby power might be an issue, but recent devices it isn't.

Amazon Echo 3rd generation speakers consume 1.8W in sleep mode (0.184W in Off mode, which no one will use).
Amazon Fire TV consumes 2.2W in network standby mode.

In the context of 300W these are negligible amounts and not worth worrying about.

Presumably the EV chargers are level 2 devices and hard wired so unplugging wouldn't be an option, in any case the standby consumption should be less than 5W which I don't think is worth worrying about, in context. Consulting the manufacturers specification should confirm the standby consumption.

The computers are quite likely to be energy hogs but a plugin meter will easily check that.

1.8W does not equal zero and 100 pennies equals a dollar. Just because it's less than it was 10 years ago doesn't mean its zero. If you want to waste your pennies, they are your pennies to waste. In the meantime, I am going to unplug the tv when I'm not using it for months at a time, and I don't have the smart home stuff at all because I don't like being spied on in my house. I also don't have an EV charging station, but if I did I would certainly consider pulling that breaker if I was going to be out of town.

It's not just power usage. Power surges are also a thing, though how big a concern they are will vary considerably. The safest option is to unplug.

1.8W continuous is 16kWh per year, over here that's about £4.80. Compared to the other expenses that running a house involves that is a trivial amount and to save it you are going to have to go to quite a lot of trouble. I'm all for saving energy and waste but there is a balance between the amount you save and the effort and inconvenience involved is not worth it to me.

I assumed that you were suggesting unplugging everything when not in use. Leaving your house unattended for months is a completely different kettle of fish and I would probably disable a number of devices if that was to happen.

If your power supply is at significant risk of stability issues I would address that first; we have a very stable supply here and 'power surges' aren't an issue.

No, I don't unplug everything in the house. But the one power strip that only has stuff I rarely use plugged into it? Yes, I keep that unplugged. And yes it might be pennies, but pennies add into dollars, or pounds in your case. It causes no harm, stress, or inconvenience for me to save those pennies so why wouldn't I? (Also, maybe remember what website you're on.)

I've had 3 major power surges I'm aware of. One was caused by a transformer failing nearby, the 2nd because lightning hit something near by and impacted the local grid. The 3rd was caused by some electricians doing major work in the house who didn't turn off a circuit that they should have. I don't use those electricians anymore.

So, how would you suggest I mitigate failing transformers and lightning strikes? How about tornadoes, thunderstorms, or high winds? Because I get those as well and they have caused power outages, though no major surges I'm aware of.

Yes, I have surge protectors, and they functioned as designed and were duly replaced.

[BlueMR2]

Regarding the PCs specifically, many PCs have options that can be adjusted in the boot options / system setup to reduce power consumption when "off".  By default, nearly all of them are configured to allow for "soft on" timer based startup, Wake on LAN, and USB charging.  The exact option to adjust to turn those off varies model to model (and some models you CAN'T, like on my current laptop!).  If you can find it though that can be a few watts...

Most interesting thing I noted is that our savings from switching to LED lighting from IC are undetectable in our bill...  We make a big point to use natural lighting as much as possible, so the total run time of lights is so low that even IC lighting is lost in the noise of the HVAC, refrigerator, washer/dryer, etc...  Our payback on switching to LED lights may not be seen for years.

[Highbeam]

My hot tub is down for service, a leaky jet, and even though the weather is warm that appliance not running saves me about 15 kwh per day. I'm dragging my feet on getting it back up and running since that is about 2$ per day.

[kenner]

Depending on how many devices are concurrent-use you can find 'advanced' power strips/surge suppressors that basically have one outlet as the master, and when you turn that device off it will shut off all power to the secondary devices so you don't have to go around unplugging things.  For something like a desktop computer it wouldn't do much, but for a combination like television+dvd player+speakers it does come in handy.

[Jack0Life]

I have 2 EV chargers too.
One is for 120v that is plugged into my mini solar system.
The other one is a 240v Nema 14-50.
The 120v shows 2w during idle so that's about 17kwh per year.
The 240v, I do not know as I don't have a watt meter for 240v.

[Davnasty]

My hot tub is down for service, a leaky jet, and even though the weather is warm that appliance not running saves me about 15 kwh per day. I'm dragging my feet on getting it back up and running since that is about 2$ per day.

15kwh?! That's more than my whole apartment in peak AC season. I may have just lost my desire for having a hot tub someday.

[Highbeam]

My hot tub is down for service, a leaky jet, and even though the weather is warm that appliance not running saves me about 15 kwh per day. I'm dragging my feet on getting it back up and running since that is about 2$ per day.

15kwh?! That's more than my whole apartment in peak AC season. I may have just lost my desire for having a hot tub someday.

Nice things cost money. Lots of folks with hot tubs never use them and then lots are daily users. It seems to be one way or the other. If you aren't a frequent user then it's an expensive luxury. We have really enjoyed ours over the last couple of decades and it forced our kids to talk with us more since you can't play on your phone in the tub!

The most modern spas might be slightly more energy efficient. Winter is much worse than 2$ per day.

[Just Joe]

I thought I'd like to have a hot tub. Bought an older house with a whirlpool tub which is a substitute. We've used it exactly 3 times in 5 years. It will probably be removed if we ever remodel the bathroom.