{"id":497912,"date":"2022-10-03T14:00:43","date_gmt":"2022-10-03T11:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/how-to-identify-and-measure-phantom-loads-in-your-home\/"},"modified":"2022-10-03T14:00:43","modified_gmt":"2022-10-03T11:00:43","slug":"how-to-identify-and-measure-phantom-loads-in-your-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-to-identify-and-measure-phantom-loads-in-your-home\/","title":{"rendered":"#How to Identify and Measure Phantom Loads in Your Home"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a259c4a8e7fe\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a259c4a8e7fe\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-to-identify-and-measure-phantom-loads-in-your-home\/#%E2%80%9CHow_to_Identify_and_Measure_Phantom_Loads_in_Your_Home%E2%80%9D\" >&#8220;How to Identify and Measure Phantom Loads in Your Home&#8221;<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-2' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-to-identify-and-measure-phantom-loads-in-your-home\/#What_Is_a_Phantom_Load\" >What Is a Phantom Load?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-to-identify-and-measure-phantom-loads-in-your-home\/#How_to_Identify_Phantom_Loads\" >How to Identify Phantom Loads<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-to-identify-and-measure-phantom-loads-in-your-home\/#How_to_Measure_Phantom_Loads\" >How to Measure Phantom Loads<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-to-identify-and-measure-phantom-loads-in-your-home\/#How_to_Measure_the_Phantom_Load_of_Individual_Devices\" >How to Measure the Phantom Load of Individual Devices<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/how-to-identify-and-measure-phantom-loads-in-your-home\/#How_to_Measure_the_Net_Phantom_Load_of_Your_Home\" >How to Measure the Net Phantom Load of Your Home<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9CHow_to_Identify_and_Measure_Phantom_Loads_in_Your_Home%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>&#8220;How to Identify and Measure Phantom Loads in Your Home&#8221;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<div>\n<figure style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"type:primaryImage wp-image-836614 size-full\" data-pagespeed-no-defer=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/MeasurePhantom1.jpg?width=1198&amp;trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"An airy loft-style living room with brick walls.\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" data-crediturl=\"https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/image-photo\/home-interior-open-plan-kitchen-lounge-627683612\" data-credittext=\"Monkey Business Images\/Shutterstock.com\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"type:primaryImage imagecredit\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/image-photo\/home-interior-open-plan-kitchen-lounge-627683612\">Monkey Business Images\/Shutterstock.com<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Who wants to pay more on their electric bill if they don\u2019t have to? Here\u2019s how to identify and measure phantom loads to save money.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_Is_a_Phantom_Load\"><\/span>What Is a Phantom Load?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>\u201cPhantom load\u201d is a phrase commonly used to refer to the standby power consumed by <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>liances and devices when they are not in active use.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re listening to music through your home stereo setup and the consumption is 80 watts, that is the active load. When the stereo is off, and it\u2019s still consuming 5 watts of power, that\u2019s the phantom load.<\/p>\n<p>Not all phantom loads are inherently bad, however, even if your initial reaction is to assume that any power used when you\u2019re not actively using a device or appliance is wasted power. There are advantages and disadvantages to a device\u2019s phantom load, with almost all of the advantages centered on our comfort\u2014such as ensuring devices turn on quickly or preserve their settings.<\/p>\n<p>But, eliminating phantom loads around your home when those phantom loads don\u2019t benefit you or make your life more comfortable is a noble effort that is good for the environment and will save you money.<\/p>\n<p>How much money will you save? While that\u2019s highly dependent on the makeup of your household and how many devices you have, the average household could easily save hundreds of dollars a year in electrical costs per year by aggressively eliminating phantom loads.<\/p>\n<p>But don\u2019t worry; we won\u2019t leave you hanging with a vague estimate. In a moment, we\u2019ll show you how to measure the loads yourself and calculate how much they are costing you.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_to_Identify_Phantom_Loads\"><\/span>How to Identify Phantom Loads<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>So how do you identify which devices have a phantom load and which do not? While the only way to be certain is to actually measure the electrical consumption of the device, there are some tell-tale signs.<\/p>\n<p>Here are some basic questions you can ask about a given device. If the answer to any question is yes, the device has a phantom power load.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Is the device or the device\u2019s \u201cwall wart\u201d charging brick warm to the touch when the device is turned off?<\/li>\n<li>Does it have a remote control, or can it be turned on remotely via the local network or other means?<\/li>\n<li>Does it have lights, displays, or other indicators that stay on when the device is turned off?<\/li>\n<li>Is the device programmable and\/or retains settings, without the aid of a battery, between uses?<\/li>\n<li>Does the device have a timer function to automate some process (making coffee, turning on lamps, etc.)?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In short, if a device turns on instantly (especially by remote control) or otherwise seems ready to go as if it was partially powered on and waiting, it\u2019s a good indicator it was, indeed, partially powered on.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_to_Measure_Phantom_Loads\"><\/span>How to Measure Phantom Loads<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<figure style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-836616 size-full\" data-pagespeed-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/MeasurePhantom2.jpg?trim=1,1&amp;bg-color=000&amp;pad=1,1\" alt=\"A closeup view of a smart power meter attached to a residence.\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" data-crediturl=\"https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/image-photo\/smart-electric-power-meter-measuring-usage-709841746\" data-credittext=\"JWPhotoworks\/Shutterstock.com\" src=\"\/pagespeed_static\/1.JiBnMqyl6S.gif\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"imagecredit\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/image-photo\/smart-electric-power-meter-measuring-usage-709841746\">JWPhotoworks\/Shutterstock.com<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Let\u2019s look at how to measure a phantom load at an individual device level and then how to, for the curious folks out there, check the phantom draw of your entire home.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_to_Measure_the_Phantom_Load_of_Individual_Devices\"><\/span>How to Measure the Phantom Load of Individual Devices<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>While putting your hand on a power brick and feeling the warmth will tell you that the device is using some power, it won\u2019t tell you how much. To find out how much, you need a measuring device.<\/p>\n<p>Our preferred device, and one we have recommended for years now, is the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/P3-International-P4460-Electricity-Monitor\/dp\/B000RGF29Q?tag=lsmedia-11157-20\">P3 International P4460 Kill a Watt electricity monitor<\/a>. Not only can you plug a device into it and see exactly how many watts of power the device is pulling down, but you can program the Kill a Watt with your local electric price-per-kWh and get an on-device estimate for how much a given device costs you to run per day, week, month and year.<\/p>\n<div class=\"product-box  \">\n<div class=\"product-img product-img-noaward\">\n<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" aria-hidden=\"true\" tabindex=\"-1\" role=\"presentation\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/P3-International-P4460-Electricity-Monitor\/dp\/B000RGF29Q?tag=lsmedia-11157-20\" onclick=\"fbq('track', 'Buy Button'); if (fb_t_convert){fb_t_convert();}\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" data-pagespeed-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/m.media-amazon.com\/images\/I\/41htdrTnnML._SL160_.jpg\" height=\"147px\" width=\"150px\" alt=\"\" role=\"presentation\" src=\"\/pagespeed_static\/1.JiBnMqyl6S.gif\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><br \/>\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The Kill a Watt is accurate to within 0.2% wattage and can measure down to 0.1W. Although it is worth noting that below 1W, especially below 0.5W, basic commercial watt meters, the Kill a Watt included, are less accurate.<\/p>\n<p>At extremely low standby power levels, you need more sophisticated laboratory equipment to measure the power with extreme accuracy. For our purposes, however, the Kill a Watt is useful and a great value. It\u2019s more important to figure out whether a device has a phantom load of 20W than it is to figure out if the phantom load is truly 0.6W or 0.4W.<\/p>\n<p>We have a detailed guide to using the Kill A Watt meter to measure your home\u2019s energy use if you\u2019d like to read more about it, but to use it to measure the standby power of a single device it\u2019s quite straightforward. Just plug it in and read the output on the display.<\/p>\n<p>You might be shocked at the results, by the way. While many devices, such as a cellphone charger, will have a phantom load so small as to be immeasurable by the Kill a Watt, other things use more power than you\u2019d expect.<\/p>\n<p>I tested several Samsung smart TVs around my home, for example, and the idle phantom load ranged from 14-18W depending on the size of the TV. With a power cost of 12 cents per kWh, leaving the TVs plugged in and idle for a year costs around $17 per TV.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_to_Measure_the_Net_Phantom_Load_of_Your_Home\"><\/span>How to Measure the Net Phantom Load of Your Home<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Measuring the individual loads of devices to determine if, on a case-by-case basis, it\u2019s worth keeping the devices plugged in all the time is one thing. But what if you\u2019re curious about the overall phantom load of your home?<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s kind of a novel thing to be curious about. Your home has a \u201cstandby\u201d mode when you\u2019re not living it up enjoying all the creature comforts, so what is it? Here\u2019s how you can get a rough idea of how much energy your home consumes in different states.<\/p>\n<p>To do so, you\u2019ll need access to the power meter for your home so you can read the data presented on it. You\u2019ll also need a stopwatch and a calculator. We outline the method and the equation required in the section of this article entitled \u201cUsing Your Electrical Meter to Measure Electrical Usage,\u201d so review that section before continuing as we won\u2019t be rehashing the entire process here. Instead, we\u2019ll focus on tips to help you get a real sense of what the net phantom load of your home is.<\/p>\n<p>First, let\u2019s establish a baseline to have a reference point and a basis for judging any changes. Don\u2019t change anything in your home, like unplugging devices.\u00a0 Go outside to the meter and measure the energy usage with the technique outlined in the article above. Let\u2019s say, for the sake of example, that you calculate your hourly power consumption is 1,400W\u2014which is pretty close to the national average.<\/p>\n<p>After establishing the baseline, go inside your home and turn off or unplug any appliances or devices that are necessary to the function of your home and\/or cannot be unplugged.<\/p>\n<p>For example, you would never turn off your furnace to save on standby power, nor would you unplug your refrigerator. Efficient or not, those things need to stay on for your safety and well-being. By briefly turning them off, however, we can remove whatever standby power they might consume from our home evaluation and focus on everything else that remains plugged in, like the TVs, computers, smart speakers, etc.<\/p>\n<p>With those items unplugged and the remaining devices in the home plugged in but turned off, go back outside and check your meter again. For the sake of example, let\u2019s say that the readout and your calculations indicate your home is using 900W of power. That\u2019s the collective idle power draw of everything (save for the fridge and such you just unplugged) in your home. Every TV, every power s<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/trip-and-travel\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"10\" title=\"Trip &amp; Travel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">trip<\/a>, every phone charger, even the tiniest phantom load, if present, from every circuit board on every LED bulb.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re even more curious, you can go back and unplug more things. Unplug the TV in the guest room. Unplug your old <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/game\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"7\" title=\"Game\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">game<\/a> console you hardly ever play. Unplug anything that you don\u2019t want instant hassle-free access to\u2014if you\u2019re willing to be hassled a little now and then to plug it in to save money, unplug it now.<\/p>\n<p>Do a final reading of the power meter. Let\u2019s say the reading is now 600W. The difference between the idle-but-plugged-in reading, 900W, and the idle-but-unplugged reading, 600W, is 300W.<\/p>\n<p>At 12 cents per kWh, a 300W standby load, over the course of an entire year, costs you $315.36. That\u2019s not exactly an insignificant amount of money and one that might have you seriously considering unplugging everything when you\u2019re not using it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script>\n setTimeout(function(){\n  !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)\n  {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\n  n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};\n  if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';\n  n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\n  t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\n  s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s) } (window, document,'script',\n  'https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n   fbq('init', '335401813750447');\n   fbq('track', 'PageView');\n  },3000);\n<\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/836580\/how-to-identify-and-measure-phantom-loads-in-your-home\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;How to Identify and Measure Phantom Loads in Your Home&#8221; Monkey Business Images\/Shutterstock.com Who wants to pay more on their electric bill if they don\u2019t have to? Here\u2019s how to identify and measure phantom loads to save money. What Is a Phantom Load? \u201cPhantom load\u201d is a phrase commonly used to refer to the standby&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":497913,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/MeasurePhantom1.jpg?height=200p&trim=2,2,2,2","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-497912","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/497912","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=497912"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/497912\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/497913"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=497912"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=497912"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=497912"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}