Turn it off

A study by non-profit Prayas Energy Group, which estimated the total standby energy-saving potential in India, found:

• TV sets, set-top boxes and personal computers consume 2,700 million units of power annually in standby mode


• Rural poor had very small standby consumption, followed by urban slums. Urban middle class had the highest standby consumption. At Rs 4.50 per kilowatt hour, urban households lose Rs 400 every year on their electricity bills due to standby losses


• Standby power consumption and full load power consumption of settop boxes were almost the same

In future

• In a rapid-growth scenario—high penetration in rural areas and rural population copying urban behaviour—standby power consumption

from the appliances will nearly double to 5,500 million units by 2013
• In a low-growth scenario, the standby power consumption from the three units will be 4,618 million units by 2013


• Based on penetration rate the cumulative standby energy loss because of TV sets alone would be 2,280.5 million units in 2012- 2013. For set-top boxes, it would be 516.39 million units