Standby losses occur when electrical appliances continue to consume energy when left in a standby mode or even when turned off. As the number and variety of consumer products with embedded network capability continues to grow, more products tend to remain in active or high power operating modes for longer periods of time to maintain active network communications. This need for constant communication makes the problem of minimizing standby power losses becomes increasingly difficult to solve.

Preliminary analysis  indicates that approximately 180 TWh of final energy and 110 million metric tons of CO2 emissions can be saved in 2030 by adopting the world’s best efficiency standards in participating Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM) economies. To date, only the European Union has developed minimum efficiency standards or labeling programs to mitigate network standby losses.