Standby Power - Fire Risks

Fire Risks

There is a risk of fire from devices in standby mode. There are reports of televisions, in particular, catching fire in standby mode.

Before the development of modern semiconductor electronics it was not uncommon for devices, typically television receivers, to catch fire when plugged in but switched off, sometimes when fully switched off rather than on standby. This is much less likely with modern equipment, but not impossible. Older cathode-ray tube display equipment (television and computer displays) had high voltages and currents, and were far more of a fire risk than thin panel LCD and other displays.

Contributing factors for electrical fires include:

• Damp environments
• Lightning strikes affecting building wiring
• Age of the appliance—older appliances are less well designed for safety, and may have deteriorated