How Much Does It Cost to Run Appliances 24/7?
A handful of appliances never turn off — the fridge, the freezer, the cable box, the modem, the security cameras. Individually they draw little. Together they run a steady $35 a month (about $429 a year) at the US average rate of $0.16/kWh — a baseline that never shows up as a spike on your bill, so it's the easiest cost in the house to overlook.
Here is every always-on device ranked by cost, then the truth about "phantom loads" — which switched-off appliances actually keep drawing power, and which ones the old unplug-everything advice gets wrong.
Always-On Appliances, Ranked by Cost
| Appliance | Watts | Hrs/day | Monthly cost | Yearly cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Refrigerator The single largest always-on load in most homes. A second fridge in the garage doubles this line. | 150W | 24 | $17.28 | $210 |
| Upright freezer Effective continuous draw once you average the compressor's on/off cycling over the day. | 55W | 24 | $6.34 | $77 |
| Chest freezer Cycles less than an upright because opening the lid doesn't dump the cold air out. | 40W | 24 | $4.61 | $56 |
| Cable box / DVR Barely powers down when you hit 'off' — it keeps the tuner and hard drive warm to record and update. The classic hidden 24/7 cost. | 25W | 24 | $2.88 | $35 |
| Modem + Wi-Fi router Low wattage, but it never sleeps. A mesh system with extra nodes multiplies this. | 18W | 24 | $2.07 | $25 |
| Security camera system (NVR + cameras) A recorder plus a handful of wired PoE cameras. Wireless battery cameras cost nothing to run but need recharging. | 15W | 24 | $1.73 | $21 |
| Smart speaker Idles listening for the wake word all day. Trivial on its own — worth noting only because most homes now have several. | 3W | 24 | $0.35 | $4 |
| Total always-on baseline | $35.25 | $429 |
Estimates at the US average rate of $0.16/kWh. Monthly figures use a 30-day month; yearly figures run the full 8,760 hours. Multiply by your local rate ÷ $0.16 to adjust, or compare any two appliances side by side.
1. The Refrigerator Is the Cost That Actually Matters
Of everything that runs around the clock, the fridge dwarfs the rest. At 150 watts of averaged draw it costs about $210 a year— more than the cable box, modem, cameras, and speakers put together. You can't turn it off, but you can make it work less: set it to 37°F rather than colder, vacuum the condenser coils (dust can raise energy use by up to 25%), and keep it out of a hot garage where it has to fight the heat.
The bigger lever is age. A refrigerator from the 1990s can use two to three times what a modern one does — running an old second fridge in the garage 24/7 is often the most expensive always-on appliance in the house without anyone realizing it.
2. The Cable Box, Modem, and Router: Small Watts, Every Hour
A cable box or DVR is the sneakiest line on this page. It draws about 25 watts and barely drops that when you switch it "off"— it keeps the tuner ready and the hard drive spinning so it can record and update on schedule. That's roughly $35 a year, most of it while you think the thing is off.
Your modem and Wi-Fi router add about $25a year between them. There's no meaningful way to lower a router's draw and you don't want to power your internet down nightly — so this one you simply budget for. A mesh system with extra satellite nodes multiplies it, which is worth knowing before you buy a three-pack to cover a house that one router already reached.
Wired security cameras land in the same bucket: a recorder plus a few PoE cameras runs around $21a year and can't be switched off without defeating the point. Battery-powered wireless cameras cost nothing at the wall but trade that for recharging.
3. Phantom Loads: What Really Uses Power When It's "Off"
"Phantom" or standby load is the power a device draws while switched off but still plugged in. The advice to unplug everything dates from an era of leakier electronics; today the picture is lopsided. A few devices draw real standby power, and most draw almost none. Here's where each one actually lands:
| Device (switched off) | Standby watts | Yearly cost | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cable box / DVR (in standby) | 25W | $35.04 | Worth acting on. It draws almost as much off as on. Unplug it or a whole shelf of electronics on one switched power strip. |
| Game console (rest mode) | 12W | $16.82 | Worth acting on. Rest mode holds 10-15W to allow background downloads. Fully power it off if you don't need them. |
| Desktop computer (sleep) | 5W | $7.01 | Minor. Shut down overnight rather than sleeping to recover most of it. |
| TV (standby) | 1W | $1.40 | Ignore it. Efficiency standards capped modern TV standby near 1W — a few cents a year. |
| Microwave / oven clock | 2W | $2.80 | Ignore it. The clock display costs a few cents a year; unplugging it isn't worth losing the timer. |
| Phone charger (nothing plugged in) | 0.3W | $0.42 | Ignore it. Modern chargers draw almost nothing with no phone attached. The 'always unplug your charger' advice is mostly obsolete. |
Standby draws are typical values; measure your own with a $15-20 plug-in energy meter.
4. How to Calculate Any Phantom Load
The formula is the same one behind every number on this page:
watts ÷ 1,000 × hours per day × days × rate = cost
For an always-on or standby device the hours are simply 24. A 25W DVR left on all year is 25 ÷ 1,000 × 24 × 365 × $0.16 = $35. Swap in the measured watts of any device to get its real cost — the comparison tool runs it for two appliances at once, and your state's electricity rate replaces the $0.16 average if you want it exact.
The takeaway from doing the math on real devices: standby power is a rounding error for anything under about 5W. The savings live in the fridge, the DVR, and the game console — not the phone charger.
The Takeaway
Your always-on appliances run a quiet $429-a-year baseline, and the refrigerator alone is nearly half of it. That's the one to optimize — coils, temperature, placement, and age — because you can't switch it off.
For the rest, be selective. Put the cable box, DVR, and game console on a switched power strip you can kill overnight, budget for the modem and router because there's no lowering them, and stop worrying about the TV standby light and the microwave clock. Unplug what draws 10 watts or more; leave the pennies alone.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What appliances use the most electricity when running 24/7?
The refrigerator, by a wide margin. At 150 watts running around the clock it costs about $210 a year at the US average rate of $0.16/kWh. Freezers are next, then the set-top box or DVR at roughly $35 a year, and your modem and router at about $25. Together, the always-on devices in a typical home run about $429 a year — a steady baseline that never shows up as a spike on your bill.
Do appliances use electricity when turned off?
Some do, and the amounts vary enormously. A cable box or DVR barely powers down at all — it holds close to its running wattage to keep the tuner ready and record on schedule. A game console in rest mode draws 10-15W. But a modern TV in standby uses about 1W, and a phone charger with nothing plugged into it draws almost nothing. The old blanket advice to unplug everything is outdated: chase the set-top box and game console, ignore the clocks and chargers.
How do I calculate phantom load cost?
Use the same formula as any appliance: watts ÷ 1,000 × hours × days × your rate. For an always-on device that's watts ÷ 1,000 × 24 × 365 × your rate. A 25W DVR works out to 25 ÷ 1,000 × 24 × 365 × $0.16 = about $35 a year. To measure a real device rather than estimate, a $15-20 plug-in energy meter reads its actual draw — including standby — at the outlet.
Is it worth unplugging appliances to save money?
Selectively. Grouping a cable box, DVR, and game console onto one switched power strip you flip off overnight can save $30-50 a year. Unplugging a phone charger or the microwave to kill its clock saves pennies and usually isn't worth the hassle. The rule of thumb: unplug the things that draw 10W or more in standby, and leave the rest alone.
Can I turn off my refrigerator to save money?
Not practically — it has to run to keep food safe, and it's the one always-on load you can't switch off. What you can do is cut how hard it works: set it to 37°F rather than colder, vacuum the condenser coils (dust can raise its energy use by up to 25%), keep it out of a hot garage, and retire any 1990s second fridge, which can use two to three times what a modern one does.