Determining A Home’s Idle Load and How to Save Money
Idle load is what your home is costing you when no one is using anything. It’s called “idle” load because it’s the cost of your home idling. If you kept your car idling outside, it’s still using gas. Well, idle load is the electricity your home draws just sitting there. Btw, we’ve mentioned before that standby power is a type of idle load.
Here are some ways to figure out your home’s idle load. And which devices are doing it, so you can choose to fix them or not. At least you know what your choices are.
We will cover three methods. Hard. Easy. Easiest.
If you are short on time and just want to cut your electric bills or not waste electricity, scroll down to Method 3 or give our app Dr. Power a spin. It works on the web, Android, and iOS. The app is sponsored by state agencies and utility companies, so it’s free for everyone. No strings attached.
Method 1: Measure It
This is the hard way, but it’s what energy professionals call the “ground truth.” This is the real deal if you’re into big-time accuracy. There are meters you can get out there, such as this $30 kill-a-watt meter or this $20 kill-a-watt meter which lets you directly measure the electricity that a device is drawing. You plug a meter in between a device and the wall outlet, switch the device to off or standby mode. Then, take a reading. For some devices, like an old fridge, it’s harder because it’s darn hard getting to the plug. Also, how do you know when the fridge is “idling”? (You take multiple readings throughout the day and take an average.)
If you want to measure it yourself, start with devices that you know gives off some heat even when it’s not in use. Be careful! There’s no need to touch the plug or even the device. You can feel the heat just touching or putting your hand close to the safe part of a device.
Direct measurement is time-consuming and not for everyone. Besides a kill-a-watt meter, you can use other gadgets such as a smart plug, your home’s own smart meter or a HAN device.
Note: We get no commissions via Amazon.com. We include links, so you can see what we are referring to.
Method 2: Look It Up
The good news is that lots of people have measured stuff and published it. You can fire up your web browser and search.
Manufacturers are a great source for various specs. So are instruction manuals (if you ever keep them or know where they are). For example, the specs for this Samsung TV is listed here. When in use, it draws 70W, and when it’s on standby, it draws 0.3W. The problem here is that you often need to know the exact brand and model number. Devices have all types of specs for different countries and releases, so there might be some frustration here.
More good news. Others have compiled information about power consumption in one place. Gizmodo even wrote an article about it. Retailers like Amazon or Home Depot have detailed specs for some devices, but not all. It’s a lot of digging.
Method 3: Guided App
The easiest way is, of course, to have an expert walk through your house. They’d spot things immediately and would know the easiest ways to save. Aside from that, try an app that guides you. Preferably, one that is easy to use.
We’ve made one! It’s called Dr. Power, and it’s available on the web, Android, and iOS. We made it with help from utility companies and government agencies who care about energy efficiency.
Dr. Power shows you pictures of devices, and you just say you have one or not. It makes recommendations on how to reduce idle load for your home based on your answers. That’s it. The app is based on expertise from lots of residential energy experts.
Just to be fair, we did a search in iTunes and Google Playstore. There’s really no other app that helps with standby power and idle load for an entire home. Almost everything else requires people to setup and buy stuff. It’s kinda why we made it.
It’s at no cost because families saving on utility bills is a win for everyone. The government paid for it. Lighter on your wallet and the power grid.
