How we work this out
Every device ticked above is priced on a straight 24-hours-a-day, 365-days-a-year basis, because that's what standby actually is: power drawn while the thing is idle, not while you're using it. Wattage times hours times your state's electricity rate gives the annual cost for that device, and we add them all up. The router figure alone (7–10 W, MyConnect) usually dwarfs everything else on this page, because it's the one device here that genuinely can't be switched off overnight without killing the home internet.
Worked example: a router, two TVs on standby, one monitor, a console left on energy-saving mode and the usual microwave/dishwasher/washing machine standby load comes to about 18 W running around the clock, roughly 160 kWh a year. On Victoria's rate that's about $47 a year, most of it the router.
Which one is actually worth switching off
Modern standby draw has shrunk a long way from the old 'vampire power' panic. Canstar Blue's own figures put a microwave's standby clock at about 1 W today, down from around 4 W two decades ago, and a computer monitor at roughly half a watt. A dishwasher and washing machine sit in between at a few watts each (MyConnect). None of those are worth restructuring your evening around, a power board with a switch handles them in one flick if you're passing anyway. The router is the real exception: it runs every hour of every year, and at the high end of its range it alone can be worth more than the rest of a house's standby gadgets put together. A mesh WiFi kit multiplies that exception rather than shrinking it: NETGEAR's own published figures for its Orbi hardware show a satellite unit idles at about 7.3 W, in the same range as the router it's paired with, not the low-power afterthought it looks like (see our mesh WiFi running cost guide for the full comparison).
Common questions
What counts as standby power?
Power a device draws while it's plugged in and switched off, idle, or in a low-power resting state, sometimes called vampire or phantom power. It's smaller than the appliance's active draw, but unlike active use it runs continuously, which is what this calculator prices.
Which device on this list matters most?
Almost always the router/modem. At 7–10 W running every hour of the year, it typically costs more on its own than everything else on this page combined, and it's the one device that can't just be switched off at the wall.
Is old-style standby power still worth worrying about?
Less than it used to be. Modern electronics have dropped standby draw close to a rounding error for most gadgets. The honest total for a typical Australian home sits around $41 to $90 a year across two independent estimates (Canstar Blue, MyConnect), and most of that is the router.
What about mesh WiFi satellites?
Count each one separately from the main router above. NETGEAR's own published Orbi figures put a satellite's idle draw at about 7.3 W, close enough to a router's own 7–10 W range that a two-satellite mesh kit can add roughly as much again as the router line by itself.
What this costs, state by state
A router, two TVs, a monitor, a console on energy-saving standby and the usual kitchen/laundry standby load, all sitting there 24/7.
| State | Rate | Per week | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| New South Wales | 32.4¢ | 29¢ | $15.39 |
| Victoria | 29.8¢ | 27¢ | $14.16 |
| Queensland | 31.2¢ | 28¢ | $14.82 |
| South Australia | 38.1¢ | 35¢ | $18.10 |
| Western Australia | 33.6¢ | 31¢ | $15.96 |
| Tasmania | 28.9¢ | 26¢ | $13.73 |
| Australian Capital Territory | 27.4¢ | 25¢ | $13.02 |
| Northern Territory | 31.7¢ | 29¢ | $15.06 |
Reference rates for 2026–27. Your row is highlighted once you set your location.
Sources
Electricity rates: AER Default Market Offer (NSW, SA, south-east QLD), Victorian Default Offer, and each remaining state's regulated tariff, current for 2026–27. Appliance figures: the energyrating.gov.au registration database (July 2026 snapshot). Methods and assumptions are described on each page.