Phantom load: what 40 plugged-in devices really cost.
The standby figures below are compiled from the LBNL standby power database and ENERGY STAR labelled-device measurements, with spot checks against plug-load meters (Kill-A-Watt P3 P4400, Emporia Vue) across 40 common household devices. The aggregate phantom load in a typical US home works out to 80-220 W (most homes land near the middle of that range) — that's $120-340/yr at the US average $0.175/kWh. Below is the table that tells you which devices are worth unplugging and which are noise.
The big offenders
| Device | Standby W | $/yr @ $0.175 |
|---|---|---|
| Cable DVR / set-top box (DirecTV Genie, Xfinity X1) | 22-35 | $34-$54 |
| PlayStation 5 / Xbox Series X (instant-on) | 10-22 | $15-$34 |
| AV receiver (Denon, Yamaha, Sony) | 8-15 | $12-$23 |
| Older laser printer | 5-12 | $8-$18 |
| Powered subwoofer | 5-10 | $8-$15 |
| External USB hard drive | 4-8 | $6-$12 |
| Older microwave (digital clock) | 3-6 | $5-$9 |
| Wi-Fi router (always on) | 6-12 | $9-$18 |
| Modem (always on) | 5-9 | $8-$14 |
| Garage door opener | 2-5 | $3-$8 |
Not worth unplugging
| Device | Standby W | $/yr |
|---|---|---|
| Phone charger (idle, no phone) | 0.05-0.2 | $0.08-$0.30 |
| Amazon Echo Dot / Google Nest Mini | 1.5-2.5 | $2-$4 |
| Modern OLED TV (2022+) | 0.4-0.9 | $0.60-$1.40 |
| Energy Star printer | 0.5-1.5 | $0.80-$2 |
| Modern microwave (no clock) | 0.1-0.5 | $0.15-$0.75 |
Add up one home-theatre corner
Take a typical living-room stack and use the midpoint of each range from the table above. Each device runs 24 h/day, 365 days, at the 2026 US average rate of $0.175/kWh. The yearly formula is the same for every row: kWh/yr = watts × 24 × 365 ÷ 1,000, then cost = kWh × $0.175.
| Cable DVR / set-top box — 28.5 W × 24 × 365 ÷ 1,000 = 250 kWh | $43.69 / yr |
| PS5 in instant-on — 16 W → 140 kWh | $24.53 / yr |
| AV receiver — 11.5 W → 101 kWh | $17.63 / yr |
| Older laser printer — 8.5 W → 74 kWh | $13.03 / yr |
| Powered subwoofer — 7.5 W → 66 kWh | $11.50 / yr |
| External USB hard drive — 6 W → 53 kWh | $9.20 / yr |
| Total — 78 W standby → 683 kWh | $119.57 / yr |
Different gear or rate? Drop your own standby watts and your electricity rate into the electricity cost calculator for an exact figure.
What phantom load costs by state
Every dollar figure above uses the 2026 US average residential rate of $0.175/kWh — but actual rates run from 12.35¢ in North Dakota to 46.62¢ in Hawaii (EIA residential rate data, 2026). Because phantom load runs 24 hours a day, its cost scales exactly with your rate: annual cost = 100 W × 8,760 h ÷ 1,000 × state rate = 876 kWh × rate. We benchmark at 100 W here because it sits near the middle of the 80-220 W range we measured across typical homes; if your standby is 150 W, multiply everything by 1.5.
10 cheapest states for phantom load
| State | Rate ¢/kWh | 100 W · $/mo | 100 W · $/yr |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Dakota | 12.35 | $9.02 | $108 |
| Idaho | 12.70 | $9.27 | $111 |
| Nebraska | 13.28 | $9.69 | $116 |
| Utah | 13.29 | $9.70 | $116 |
| Oklahoma | 13.31 | $9.72 | $117 |
| Iowa | 13.86 | $10.12 | $121 |
| Montana | 13.90 | $10.15 | $122 |
| Missouri | 14.01 | $10.23 | $123 |
| Arkansas | 14.16 | $10.34 | $124 |
| Nevada | 14.29 | $10.43 | $125 |
10 most expensive states for phantom load
| State | Rate ¢/kWh | 100 W · $/mo | 100 W · $/yr |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hawaii | 46.62 | $34.03 | $408 |
| California | 35.25 | $25.73 | $309 |
| Connecticut | 32.24 | $23.54 | $282 |
| Massachusetts | 29.45 | $21.50 | $258 |
| New York | 29.45 | $21.50 | $258 |
| Maine | 28.42 | $20.75 | $249 |
| Rhode Island | 28.30 | $20.66 | $248 |
| Alaska | 27.35 | $19.97 | $240 |
| New Hampshire | 27.24 | $19.89 | $239 |
| Vermont | 24.56 | $17.93 | $215 |
Read the spread, not just your row: the identical 100 W of standby costs 3.8× more in Hawaii than in North Dakota ($408 vs $108 a year). That changes the verdicts above. In the ten cheapest states, only the DVR and the instant-on console clear the "worth the effort" bar comfortably. In New England, California or Hawaii, even the 5-10 W devices — subwoofer, external drive, older printer — each cost $12-$41/yr, and a smart strip goes from a nice-to-have to one of the highest-ROI purchases in the house.
The home-theatre corner, repriced at 32.24¢/kWh
Take the exact 78 W stack from the example above — 683 kWh/yr of standby. Only the rate changes: Connecticut's 32.24¢/kWh instead of the 17.5¢ national average.
| Standby energy — 78 W × 24 × 365 ÷ 1,000 | 683 kWh / yr |
| Yearly cost — 683 kWh × $0.3224 | $220 / yr |
| Smart strip kills ~70 % of the draw | −$154 / yr |
| Payback on a $35 strip — 35 ÷ 154 × 12 | 2.7 months |
Not in either state? Multiply 876 kWh by your rate from the tables above for your own 100 W baseline, or run it in the electricity cost calculator.
The single cheapest fix
An advanced smart power strip ($25-$45) that detects "master device off" and cuts power to peripherals. Common setup: TV plugged into master outlet, AV receiver + game console + soundbar + sub on "switched" outlets. When you turn off the TV, the strip waits 5 seconds and kills the other four.
Typical year-1 savings: $45-$90. ROI under 6 months. The TrickleStar 7-Outlet (UL-listed, used in NV Energy's commercial rebate program) is the reference unit.
Measure your own phantom load in 20 minutes
The tables above are ranges because standby draw varies by model, firmware and settings. A $25-$35 plug-load meter (Kill-A-Watt P3 P4400 or an Emporia smart plug — the same units used for this guide's spot checks) settles the question for your exact gear. The method:
- Meter into the wall, device into the meter. If a whole cluster shares one power strip, meter the strip — that's the number a smart strip would actually eliminate.
- Turn the device "off" the way you normally do — remote, front button, whatever your habit is. That's the state it lives in 20+ hours a day.
- Wait five minutes before reading. Many devices (consoles, DVRs, receivers) sit in a higher post-shutdown state for a few minutes before dropping to true standby. An instant reading overstates the draw.
- For anything that cycles, use kWh mode, not watts. A DVR waking for guide updates or a drive spinning up bounces between readings. Leave the meter accumulating for 24 hours, read total kWh, multiply by 365.
- Convert to dollars: watts × 8.76 = kWh/yr, then × your rate. A measured 12 W = 105 kWh/yr = $18/yr at the national average, $34/yr in Connecticut.
One honest caveat: cheap plug meters lose accuracy below about 1 W, so a reading of "0.0" on a phone charger means "too small to matter", not literally zero. That's fine — nothing under 1 W is actionable anyway.
Five mistakes that waste the effort
1. Unplugging by visibility, not wattage. The charger dangling in plain sight draws 0.1 W; the DVR hidden in the cabinet draws 30 W. People overwhelmingly attack the visible one. Rank by measured watts, always.
2. Putting the wrong devices on the switched outlets. A DVR that loses power re-downloads its channel guide and can miss recordings; a router drops your whole network; a desktop PC can lose unsaved work. Smart strips are for peripherals — receiver, console, soundbar, sub, printer. Infrastructure stays on an always-on outlet.
3. Trusting the nameplate label. The label on the back states maximum draw — a "450 W" AV receiver standing by at 11 W. Nameplate numbers are useless for phantom math; only measured standby counts.
4. Taking a one-second reading on a cycling device. Catch a console mid-update and you'll log 70 W "standby"; catch a drive spun down and you'll log 1 W. Accumulated kWh over a day is the only honest number for anything with a duty cycle.
5. Doing the payback math at the national average. At 12-14¢/kWh a smart strip is a 6-8 month payback; at 28-46¢ it's 2-3 months, and marginal devices become clear-cut. Use your own rate from the state table above — the verdict genuinely flips for several devices depending on where you live.
What's actually worth unplugging
Worth the effort
- Cable DVR / set-top box — 22-35 W, up to $54/yr. The single biggest phantom load in most homes.
- Game console in instant-on — 10-22 W, up to $34/yr. Switch it to "energy saving" mode; you lose nothing but a few seconds of wake time.
- AV receiver + powered subwoofer + external drive — 17-33 W combined. Put them on a smart strip behind the TV and they vanish together.
- Older laser printer — 5-12 W. Unplug it or use a switched outlet; you only print a few times a week.
Not worth the hassle
- Phone chargers — 0.05-0.2 W, about $0.20/yr each. You'd unplug it 365 times to save the price of a coffee.
- Smart speakers — 1.5-2.5 W, $2-4/yr, and unplugging defeats the point of having them.
- Modern OLED TVs and Energy Star printers — under 1 W. Already engineered to a near-zero standby spec.
- Wi-Fi router and modem — 5-12 W, but cutting them drops your whole network; leave them on.
Frequently asked questions
How much electricity does standby power use?
A typical US home: 80-220 W standby = 700-1,900 kWh/yr = $120-330/yr at average rates. 5-10% of total residential use.
Which devices are the biggest phantom loads?
Cable DVRs (22-35 W), game consoles in instant-on (10-22 W), AV receivers, older printers, and external hard drives. Smart speakers and modern TVs are surprisingly low.
Is unplugging chargers worth it?
No. Modern chargers draw 0.05-0.2 W idle = ~$0.20/yr. Focus on the big loads.
Does phantom load cost more in some states?
Yes — linearly with your rate. The same 100 W of standby (876 kWh/yr) costs about $108/yr in North Dakota at 12.35¢/kWh but about $408/yr in Hawaii at 46.62¢/kWh, a 3.8× spread (EIA residential rates). Above roughly 25¢/kWh, a smart strip typically pays back in 2-4 months.
How do I measure standby power at home?
Plug a $25-35 plug-load meter (Kill-A-Watt P4400, Emporia smart plug) between outlet and device, turn the device off as you normally would, wait a few minutes for it to settle into true standby, and read the watts. For cycling devices, log accumulated kWh over 24 h and multiply by 365. Yearly cost = watts × 8.76 × your $/kWh rate.
Do smart power strips draw power themselves?
Yes, but very little — the sensing circuitry typically draws under 1 W, around $1.50/yr at the US average rate. Against the $45-90/yr a strip saves on a typical home-theatre stack, its own draw is negligible.
Sources: LBNL standby power database (2024 update), ENERGY STAR labelled-device list, EIA residential electricity rates by state (2026) for the state cost tables, with spot verifications using Kill-A-Watt P3 P4400 and Emporia Vue plug-load meters. Last reviewed July 16, 2026.