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Standby Power Use and the IEA “1-Watt Plan”

The IEA has worked to raise the profile of standby power since the early 1990's through its publications, international conferences and policy advice to governments. In 1999, the IEA proposed that all countries harmonise energy policies to reduce standby power, setting the target of 1-Watt per device. The IEA publication: 'Things that Go Blip in the Night', provided countries with an assessment of technology trends and current policies and outlined policy recommendations for all countries.

With the proliferation and increase in the variety of electronic devices, standby power continues to represent a growing source of electricity consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. For this reason, the IEA has advocated a 'horizontal approach' to standby policy - that is establishing the default requirements which apply to all equipment in standby mode. This avoids the need to define every product individually, and only requires the exceptions to be clearly identified.