Why isn it called leaking electricity anymore?
The term “leaking electricity” was technically incorrect. We used it because no “proper” term had been agreed upon. After much discussion, however, industry, government, and research organizations all agreed that they could live with the term “standby power” instead. The term “leaking electricity” first appeared (as far as we know) in a paper presented by Eje Sandberg at a European conference in 1993. (Sandberg, Eje. 1993. “Electronic Home Equipment — Leaking Electricity.” In The Energy Efficiency Challenge for Europe. Rungstedgard, Denmark: European Council for an Energy Efficient Economy.) For comparison, the literal translation of the Japanese term for standby power is “waiting appliance electricity”, while the translation of the French is “electricity used while an appliance is sleeping at its post”.
