Hidden energy costs of always-on internet connectivity in your home | Allconnect

Smart home living has been marketed as a way to curb your home energy use—but is it really doing so? While some smart devices do help reduce energy consumption, like smart thermostats and lightbulbs, they can also be an electricity siphon when it comes to vampire power (the electricity your devices use even when they’re off or in standby mode, but still plugged in), also known as phantom load or standby power.  Think smart speakers like Amazon’s Alexa, security cameras, smart TVs, gaming systems and more.According to the Department of Energy, vampire power can account for 5 to 10% of a household’s total electricity use.This may not seem like much, but it can add up to hundreds of dollars each year for power you’re not even using.  While a couple of these “always-on” devices won’t make much of a difference in your household’s energy use, a truly connected smart home with many smart devices constantly running can have an impact on your home’s overall energy consumption and power bill—and that’s just the smart devices.

The average home has countless other appliances that are energy vampires, like microwaves, toaster ovens, coffee makers, printers, alarm clocks, cable boxes and more.   We’ll break down the hidden cost of smart home connectivity and how you can reduce vampire power (and your energy bill).  Where is the energy going? Power consumption will vary based on device type and factors such as additional features that draw more power than the average.Therefore, keep in mind that the power usage of your home devices may be higher or lower than the general ranges provided below.  Home network equipment Networking equipment, such as modems, routers and gateways, can generate significant phantom load since they’re active 24/7 to keep your home online.Even in standby mode, they consume small amounts of electricity since they are consistently plugged into a power source.   Depending on your equipment, most modems, routers and gateways consume anywhere from 5 to 20 watts of energy per hour.  High-end, high-performing network devices would be on the higher end of this range, while a basic modem or router would hover between 5 and 10 watts.   Smart gadgets  Smaller smart devices, such as speakers, thermostats, light bulbs, and security cameras, consume less energy than larger devices like smart TVs.

However, this can add up if you have many devices constantly running in your home.Energy consumption for these types of devices can reach up to 20 watts when on, and hover under 10 watts in standby mode.Home appliances Outside of any network equipment or smart home gadgets you may have in your home, any home appliance that you plug in is consuming electricity and contributing to your household’s overall phantom load.  While you can’t get around phantom load for some large appliances like a refrigerator, other appliances like coffee makers, toaster ovens, microwaves, alarm clocks, phone chargers and even hair dryers contribute to completely avoidable phantom load.  Always-on devices can cost you Smart devices connected to your home network in an “always-on” state will contribute to your home’s overall energy consumption and increase your electric bill.

Even when you’re not actively using them, they still consume small amounts of electricity when plugged in.This power consumption adds up, especially if you have dozens of smart gadgets in your home.  But how much are smart devices’ phantom loads really costing you?  The standalone wattage of a single smart device is low, but multiplying that by every “always on” device in your home can add an extra $100 or more per year to your energy bill, depending on your devices.  Internet-based devices First, let’s calculate the average cost per year of a few commonly used internet-dependent devices in a small household using a phantom load energy calculator.Keep in mind that results may vary depending on the type of devices you have.  Note: Kilowatt-hours (kWh) is a unit of energy that measures the total amount of electricity consumed over a specified period.

Small household DeviceAnnual kWhAnnual cost 2 LED TVs18.0$1.80 1 streaming media player17.0$1.70 1 game console15.0$1.50 1 smart speaker22.0$2.20 1 computer monitor0.1$0.01 2 laptops28.0$2.80 1 cable modem/router53.0$5.30 1 security camera4.0$0.40 1 security system7.0$0.70 Total annual cost: $18.81 Now, in the grand scheme of things, $18.81 is a small number.But let’s say you have a large household with more than one or two devices for each category: Larger household DeviceAnnual kWhAnnual cost 3 LED TVs18.0$2.70 2 streaming media player34.0$3.40 2 game console30.0$30.00 3 smart speaker66.0$6.60 2 computer monitor0.2$0.02 4 laptops56.0$5.60 1 cable modem/router53.0$5.30 3 security camera12$1.20 1 security system7.0$0.70 Total annual cost: $30.92 Still, $30.00/yr.isn’t close to the estimated $100 annual cost of phantom load, but we only calculated the cost of internet-dependent devices.

The average home has appliances that can significantly add to this cost, such as furnaces, dryers, coffee makers, dishwashers, air conditioners, and washing machines.Let’s see how these appliances add up:  Household appliance use DeviceAnnual kWhAnnual cost 3 LED TVs18.0$2.70 2 streaming media player34.0$3.40 2 game console30.0$30.00 3 smart speaker66.0$6.60 2 computer monitor0.2$0.02 4 laptops56.0$5.60 1 cable modem/router53.0$5.30 3 security camera12$1.20 1 security system7.0$0.70 1 cable box70.0$7.00 1 printer22.0$2.20 4 cellphone chargers36.0$3.60 4 laptop chargers36.0$3.60 1 coffee maker263.0$26.30 1 washing machine21.0$2.10 1 dryer22.0$2.20 1 dishwasher18.0$1.80 1 cooking range27.0$2.70 1 air conditioner35.0$3.50 1 furnace35.0$3.50 1 water heater68.0$6.80 Total annual cost of internet-dependent devices and home appliances: $96.22 While the annual cost for each device may seem small, they add up quickly — and again, this number could be even larger if you have additional devices not included in our table, or if your devices consume more energy than this general calculation suggests.How to reduce the hidden costs of energy vampires Unplug your devices  The easiest way to eliminate phantom load is to unplug your devices when they’re not in use.

There are some devices you shouldn’t do this with, like your refrigerator, but you can try it with TVs, chargers, smart devices and home appliances like your microwave, coffee maker or toaster oven.Basically, anything you have plugged in that doesn’t need to be—unplug it.Use power strips and smart plugs By plugging multiple devices into a single power strip with an on/off switch, you can simply flip the off switch to ensure your devices are truly off when inactive (make sure you don’t plug in any devices that always need to be on to the power strip, like your modem or router).  You can also explore specific types of power strips:  Timer-based: Timer-based power strips turn off your devices automatically at a set time, like when you’re at work or sleeping Master-controlled: These strips automatically cut power to a “peripheral” device when a primary device is turned off.

You can choose which device you want to be your master device, and when you turn that off, the strip will cut off power to your set peripheral devices as well Motion-sensored: Motion sensor power strips turn off devices when no one is in the room  App-controlled: App-controlled power strips connect to your home Wi-Fi and allow you to manage your devices by turning them on and off, tracking energy use and even creating schedules, all through a phone application  Switch to energy-efficient products Switching to energy-efficient products, like ENERGY STAR products, can help you reduce your overall energy use as well as your phantom load.  Adjust your device settings  If you’d rather not use power management tools, you can adjust your device settings to disable the “always-on” mode that siphons power when not in use, as well as disable background updates.  The future of energy-efficient connectivity  Every energy-consuming device in your home has a cost, but as technology continues to advance, we can expect more energy-efficient networking devices and smart gadgets to make their way into our homes.  According to a PBS interview with Alexis Abramson, Dean of the Columbia Climate School, manufacturers are pressured to redesign their products to support a consumer’s ability to truly turn off their devices when needed, or put them into a sleep mode that doesn’t still contribute to a phantom load increase.   Artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT) are also both central to future efficiency in terms of optimizing power consumption in telecommunications networks, but it’s a double-edged sword due to the significant energy demands these systems put on data centers on a global scale, resulting in a constantly growing carbon footprint.  While the global impact of these technologies may seem far removed from your own home, you can still engage in your own energy-efficient practices to save money and reduce your carbon footprint.While we discussed the phantom load of smart devices and their impact on your energy bill, these devices can still be effective in reducing overall home energy consumption — just make sure to unplug them when you’re not using them (if possible).  What to read next Read more Featured 6G expected to be online by 2030 Robin Layton — 3 min read Featured 10 questions you should ask before choosing an internet service Robin Layton — 3 min read Featured Do you need Wi-Fi 7? Camryn Smith — 4 min read Latest Tuesday, November 18, 2025 Hidden energy costs of always-on internet connectivity in your home Camryn Smith — 6 min read Friday, November 7, 2025 How to get internet without electricity in 2025 Camryn Smith — 5 min read Wednesday, November 5, 2025 The real cost of internet in a new home Lisa Iscrupe — 7 min read