The four-stop walkthrough
Start at the modem. It's the one device on this list that's genuinely never switched off (our standby power cost guide has the full case for why), so it's worth checking first. MyConnect puts a typical wireless router or modem's standby draw at 7–10 W, and on this walkthrough's reference figure (8.5 W, the midpoint of that range) that alone comes to $20 (ACT) to $28 (SA) a year, more than every other stop on this walkthrough put together.
Next, the lounge: two TVs left on standby (the appliance registry's own median puts that at a rounding-error 0.4 W each) plus a games console on its energy-saving standby setting (0.9 W, the same figure our console standby guide sources from independent testing) come to a combined $4 (ACT) to $6 (SA) a year, smaller than most people expect walking in. Then the kitchen and laundry: a microwave, dishwasher and washing machine left plugged in rather than switched off at the wall, MyConnect's own combined figure of 7.5 W, comes to $18 (ACT) to $25 (SA) a year, the second-biggest line on this list after the router.
One more stop: a single computer monitor left on standby (0.5 W, Canstar Blue). Add that in and the whole four-stop walkthrough lands at $44 (ACT) to $61 (SA) a year for a typical home, close to the $41 to $90 range two independent studies, MyConnect and Canstar Blue, already put on a full house of standby gadgets. The table below has your own state.
What this costs, state by state
A router/modem, two TVs and a games console on energy-saving standby in the lounge, and the usual kitchen and laundry standby load, plus one computer monitor, all priced on the same straight 24/7 basis every standby figure on this site uses.
| State | Rate | Router/modem (8.5 W) | Lounge: 2 TVs + console standby (1.7 W) | Kitchen & laundry standby (7.5 W) | Whole walkthrough, incl. 1 monitor (18.2 W) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New South Wales | 32.4¢ | $24.13 | $4.83 | $21.29 | $51.66 |
| Victoria | 29.8¢ | $22.19 | $4.44 | $19.58 | $47.51 |
| Queensland | 31.2¢ | $23.23 | $4.65 | $20.50 | $49.74 |
| South Australia | 38.1¢ | $28.37 | $5.67 | $25.03 | $60.74 |
| Western Australia | 33.6¢ | $25.02 | $5.00 | $22.08 | $53.57 |
| Tasmania | 28.9¢ | $21.52 | $4.30 | $18.99 | $46.08 |
| Australian Capital Territory | 27.4¢ | $20.40 | $4.08 | $18.00 | $43.68 |
| Northern Territory | 31.7¢ | $23.60 | $4.72 | $20.83 | $50.54 |
Reference rates for 2026–27. Your row is highlighted once you set your location.
What this walkthrough can't put a firm number on yet
Smart speakers, soundbars and security cameras are increasingly common in Australian homes, and none of them appear above. That's not an oversight: MyConnect and Canstar Blue, the two sources behind every other figure on this page, don't publish Australian standby-draw data for any of them. The manufacturer and lab figures that do exist overseas swing widely by model, brand and feature set (a voice-assistant speaker actively listening for a wake word draws meaningfully more than one that isn't), too wide a spread to state as a single number without claiming a precision this site doesn't actually have. If any of these are genuinely always-on in your place, our general electricity cost calculator prices one device at a time from its own spec sheet or a plug-in power meter reading, rather than a guessed average. One always-on category this site can put a real number on: a mesh WiFi kit's extra satellites, each one adds roughly another router's worth of the figure above, a bigger jump than a single extra gadget usually adds.
Common questions
How does this five-minute walkthrough compare to the standby power calculator?
This walkthrough uses one representative figure per category, quick but generic. The calculator, linked below, lets you enter your own devices and wattages one by one, slower to fill in but accurate to your actual house rather than a typical one. Use this walkthrough for a rough number today, the calculator when you want your own.
Is switching everything off at the power board worth the effort?
Not for the router, since it can't come off without losing the internet. For everything else on this walkthrough, the remaining three stops add up to about $24 (ACT) to $33 (SA) a year, the $44 to $61 total minus the router's own $20 to $28, worth a flick of the switch if you're walking past anyway, not worth restructuring an evening around.
Does a mesh WiFi kit change the walkthrough total?
Yes, and by more than most people expect. See our mesh WiFi running cost guide: each extra satellite is a full router in its own right, adding roughly another router's worth of continuous standby power on top.
Sources
Router/modem standby wattage and kitchen/laundry per-device figures (microwave, dishwasher, washing machine), quoted directly: MyConnect, Standby Power, What Is The Cost Of Leaving Appliances On Standby? Computer monitor standby wattage and whole-house standby cost estimate, quoted directly: Canstar, Are vampire appliances as ghoulish as we think? (30 Oct 2025). TV standby wattage: the registry median already used by our TV running cost calculator. Games console energy-saving standby wattage: the same independent testing our console standby guide already cites. Mesh WiFi satellite draw: the same NETGEAR Orbi and Nest WiFi measurements our mesh WiFi running cost guide already cites. Electricity rates: AER Default Market Offer and each state's regulated reference tariff, current for 2026–27. All fetched July 2026.