What a phantom load is
A phantom (or standby) load is power drawn by a device that is nominally off or idle: keeping a clock alive, listening for a remote, holding a network connection. Each one is small, but they run 8,760 hours a year — which is why a watt of standby costs as much as roughly 25 hours of actively using a 350 W appliance.
Typical culprits
| Device | Typical always-on draw | Cost/year at 0.25 €/kWh |
|---|---|---|
| Router + modem | 15 W | ~33 € |
| Set-top box / DVR | 15 W | ~33 € |
| Game console in "instant on" | 10 W | ~22 € |
| Soundbar / speakers idle | 5 W | ~11 € |
| Microwave clock | 2 W | ~4 € |
| Modern TV in standby | 0.5–1 W | ~1–2 € |
| Phone charger, nothing connected | < 0.5 W | < 1 € |
A typical household cluster of 30 always-on watts works out to about 263 kWh and 66 € a year — run your own numbers in the Electricity Cost calculator. Notice the shape of the table: a couple of network boxes dominate, and the chargers everyone worries about barely register.
How to find yours
Estimates mislead; measurement settles it. A plug-in energy meter shows any single device's true draw in seconds. For the whole house, try the night test: with everything "off", watch your utility meter for an hour — the power it still shows is your total phantom load plus the fridge. Smart plugs with energy logging can then pin down which circuit the watts hide in.
What is worth cutting
Act on anything drawing 5 W or more that you do not need overnight: a switchable power strip under the TV (set-top box, console, soundbar together often exceed 30 W) typically pays for itself within months. Game consoles usually have an energy-saving standby setting that drops "instant on" from ~10 W to under 1 W. Leave the router alone if anything in the house depends on the network at night — and skip the charger-unplugging ritual; the numbers do not reward it.
For the off-grid version of this problem, the same watts hit harder: a 10 W phantom load costs a 12 V battery about 20 Ah every day — check what that does to your reserve with the Battery Runtime calculator.
Frequently asked questions
Do phone chargers really waste power when left plugged in?
Modern chargers draw well under half a watt with nothing connected — pennies a year. The myth dates from old transformer bricks. The real money is in boxes that stay network-connected: routers, TV boxes and consoles.
Is it worth switching everything off at the wall?
Target the few big always-on boxes rather than every plug. A 10–20 W device is worth acting on; a 0.5 W charger is not worth the daily ritual.
Can cutting power damage devices?
Almost never for TVs, audio gear or chargers. Leave network storage, recorders that need scheduled wake-ups, and inkjet printers (which run cleaning cycles on power-up) on their own switches.