Standby electricity consumption and saving potentials of Turkish households

The share of the residential sector currently accounts for about 25% of the national electricity consumption in Turkey. Due to increase in household income levels and decrease in the costs of appliances; significant increases in appliance ownerships and residential electricity consumption levels have been observed in recent years. Most domestic appliances continue consuming electricity when they are not performing their primary functions, i.e. at standby mode, which can constitute up 15% of the total household electricity consumption in some countries. Although the demand in Turkish residential electricity consumption is increasing, there are limited studies on the components of the residential electricity consumption and no studies specifically examining the extent and effects of standby electricity consumption using a surveying/measurement methodology. Thus, determining the share of standby electricity consumption in total home electricity use and the ways of reducing it are important issues in residential energy conservation strategies. In this study, surveys and standby power measurements are conducted at 260 households in Ankara, Turkey, to determine the amount, share, and saving potentials of the standby electricity consumption of Turkish homes. The survey is designed to gather information on the appliance properties, lights, electricity consumption behavior, economic and demographics of the occupants, and electricity bills. A total of 1746 appliances with standby power are measured in the surveyed homes. Using the survey and standby power measurements data, the standby, active, and lighting end-use electricity consumptions of the surveyed homes are determined. The average Turkish household standby power and standby electricity consumption are estimated as 22W and 95kWh/yr, respectively. It was also found that the standby electricity consumption constitutes 4% of the total electricity consumption in Turkish homes. Two scenarios are then applied to the surveyed homes to determine the potentials in reducing standby electricity consumption of the households.