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About this tool
Tick off the always-on devices in your home and see the standby power they draw, what it costs a year and how much you can switch off.
Phantom load, also called standby or vampire power, is the electricity a device draws while switched off but still plugged in. This checklist totals it device by device using the exact relationship watts x hours per day x 365 / 1000 = kWh a year, then prices the result at your own tariff and separates what you could realistically unplug from what genuinely has to stay powered. Default wattages follow typical measured standby figures and every one is editable.
Open Phantom Load Checklist on AltFTool — it loads instantly in your browser.
Add your input to the workspace.
Adjust the options until the result looks right.
Copy or download the output and put it to work.
Sorts every ticked device by annual cost so you fix the expensive one first.
A router and a CCTV recorder cannot be unplugged; a printer and a console can.
Enter your slab rate and monthly units to see standby as a share of the real bill.
In a typical home it is a few hundred to a couple of thousand rupees a year, and the spread depends almost entirely on one or two bad devices. A set-top box drawing 17 W around the clock uses about 124 kWh a year on its own, while a phone charger left plugged in with nothing attached uses under 2 kWh.
Yes, but very little. A modern phone charger with nothing attached draws roughly 0.1 to 0.3 W, which is under 3 kWh a year. The savings worth chasing are the set-top box, the games console in instant-on mode and the desktop left asleep, each of which can draw ten to fifty times more.
In the European Union, Ecodesign Regulation 1275/2008 has limited off-mode power for most consumer electronics to 0.5 W since 2013, with a slightly higher allowance where a display stays lit. Equipment sold before those rules, and categories outside their scope such as set-top boxes and network gear, can draw far more.
Refrigerators and freezers, any medical device, alarm and security systems including CCTV recorders, and anything mid-update. Smart speakers and always-on network equipment also stop doing their job without power, so the sensible target is entertainment and office equipment that sits idle overnight.