The gap the median doesn't show
Australia's energy rating registry, the same data.gov.au dataset behind this site's TV running cost calculator, records a standby-power test result for most currently registered TVs, but not all of them. Of the 4,724 models we checked (every model marked ‘Available’, deduped to one row per brand and model the same way the calculator's own data pull already does), 778 of them, 16.5%, roughly 1 in 6, carry no standby-power figure at all: a blank field in the registry, not a zero. That's not proof those models are secretly worse, we genuinely don't know either way, and that's the actual finding: about one TV in six sold in Australia has never had its standby draw published anywhere a shopper (or a site like this one) could check it.
Among the 3,946 models that do report a figure, the median is 0.4 W, confirming, not correcting, the figure this site's own TV calculator already uses. Nobody's marketing a number the tested data disagrees with; the registry's own median and this site's median are the same. What the single median hides is the shape of the whole distribution, which is where the more useful findings actually sit.
The 10 thirstiest TVs still registered, and what they actually cost
Ranked by real reported standby watts, highest first, deduped down to one row per genuinely distinct design (several brands register the same physical TV under four or five separate colour-code model numbers). Even the single worst design in the entire registry is a rounding error next to a router's 7–10 W, run the same 24/7 basis, on this site's own standby power cost guide.
| Model | What it includes | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| BLAUPUNKT, 24 in (1.01 W) | Standby only, run 24/7 all year | $2.43 (ACT) to $3.38 (SA) a year |
| JVC, 98 in (0.98 W) | Standby only, run 24/7 all year | $2.35 (ACT) to $3.27 (SA) a year |
| JVC, 74 in (0.85 W) | Standby only, run 24/7 all year | $2.04 (ACT) to $2.84 (SA) a year |
| Kogan, 100 in (0.76 W) | Standby only, run 24/7 all year | $1.82 (ACT) to $2.54 (SA) a year |
| BAUHN, 70 in (0.72 W) | Standby only, run 24/7 all year | $1.73 (ACT) to $2.40 (SA) a year |
| EKO, 55 in (0.71 W) | Standby only, run 24/7 all year | $1.70 (ACT) to $2.36 (SA) a year |
| EKO, 42 in (0.67 W) | Standby only, run 24/7 all year | $1.61 (ACT) to $2.24 (SA) a year |
| MYVI, 32 in (0.63 W) | Standby only, run 24/7 all year | $1.51 (ACT) to $2.10 (SA) a year |
| Kogan, 85 in (0.60 W) | Standby only, run 24/7 all year | $1.45 (ACT) to $2.01 (SA) a year |
| KOGAN, 24 in (0.60 W) | Standby only, run 24/7 all year | $1.44 (ACT) to $2.00 (SA) a year |
Standby watts are the government registry's own test figures (not estimated). Reference electricity rates for 2026–27.
OLED doesn't cost more at idle, and nothing comes close to a router
Split the tested models by panel technology and the medians are identical: 0.4 W for LED and 0.4 W for OLED, no premium-panel penalty at idle. The two techs' ceilings tell a different story: the highest standby figure recorded for any LED model is 1.01 W, while not one OLED model in the entire registry reports more than 0.5 W, exactly half. If anything, the premium tech is the more standby-frugal one, the opposite of what ‘bigger, brighter screen’ assumptions would suggest.
Put the worst real result in dollar terms and it barely changes the conversation this site's own standby power cost guide already had: run every hour of every year, that single worst-in-market TV costs $2.43 (ACT) to $3.38 (SA) a year, a fraction of a single router or modem's $17 to $33, the guide's own headline finding for the one household device that's genuinely worth switching off. The census doesn't overturn that guide's advice, it gives it a much bigger receipt.
Common questions
How many TV models does this census actually cover?
4,724 currently registered TV models on Australia's own government energy rating registry (data.gov.au, the same dataset behind this site's TV running cost calculator), filtered to models marked ‘Available’ and deduped to one row per brand and model.
Do all TVs sold in Australia have a published standby-power figure?
No. 778 of the 4,724 currently registered models, about 16.5%, roughly 1 in 6, carry no standby-power test result in the registry at all.
What's the highest standby draw of any TV currently registered in Australia?
1.01 W, a 24-inch Blaupunkt model, the highest of any model with a reported figure. Even that worst case costs only $2.43 (ACT) to $3.38 (SA) a year run 24/7, a fraction of a router's $17–$33.
Do OLED TVs use more standby power than LED TVs?
No. Both report the same 0.4 W median, and OLED's worst-case figure (0.5 W) is half of LED's (1.01 W). Premium panel technology isn't a standby-power penalty.
Sources
All figures in this census: a direct pull of the energyrating.gov.au registration database's Televisions resource (tv_2026_07_25.csv snapshot), the same dataset behind this site's TV running cost calculator, filtered to ‘Available’ models and deduped by brand and model. Router/modem comparison figure: this site's own standby power cost guide, sourced from MyConnect. Electricity rates: AER Default Market Offer and each state's regulated reference tariff, current for 2026–27. Registry pulled and analysed directly for this guide, July 2026.