Coffee makers. Television sets. Washing machines. Practically every appliance and electronic device you have plugged in at home is using some electricity — and adding to your utility bill — even when it isn’t in use or even turned on.
The problem is known as standby power, and it’s getting worse as people acquire more appliances, more equipment goes electric, and a growing number of devices get “smart,” or connected to the internet. It’s no longer uncommon for a household to have dozens of appliances plugged in at any given time — from a microwave with a digital clock to a smart light bulb synced to an app on their phone — and the collective electricity consumption of all these items in low-energy mode is not trivial.