Phantom Energy 101: The Power You Don’t See (But Still Pay For)
Phantom energy—power used by idle devices—can make up 5–20% of a building’s electricity use. Ecovolt’s AI-powered Building Management System combats this by providing real-time insights, predictive maintenance, and plug-level monitoring, helping clients achieve 8–20% higher energy efficiency and rapid, cost-effective savings within months.
October 3, 2025
The Challenge
The lights are off, the building is silent, and everything appears to be shut down. But, behind the scenes, electricity is still quietly flowing through your sockets, remaining unseen, unused and often unnoticed. This unnoticed energy used is known as phantom energy. What exactly is phantom energy? Phantom energy refers to the electricity consumed by devices even when they appear to be off or are in standby mode. This energy usage often comes from common electronics such as TVs, chargers, and monitors that remain plugged in but are not actively used. According to PropTech Insights, phantom energy can account for 5-20% of total energy consumption in commercial facilities. As a result, facility managers end up paying their monthly utility bills without knowing exactly what they are paying for or why their electricity costs are higher than expected. There is no breakdown, no analytics, and no explanation — just one large lump-sum bill.
The Impact
Without this information, managers are unable to identify which areas or devices consume the most electricity each month, evaluate whether their energy-saving initiatives are effective, or determine how much electricity is being used for HVAC, plug-loads, lighting, fans, and more.
What makes this worse is that many existing Building Management Systems (BMS) do not provide real-time, granular energy monitoring. On top of that, Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) consultancies are costly, leaving managers to guess their building’s true energy consumption and carbon footprint.
The Solution
Ecovolt! With Ecovolt’s AI-Native BMS, say goodbye to guessing and living in the dark. This next-generation BMS delivers AI-optimised energy savings, predictive maintenance, and real-time data and control.
With Ecovolt Technologies, schools have seen an 8-20% increase in energy efficiency through AI-Powered scheduled timers. On average, our customers experience a payback period of 6–18 months for plug-load-level optimisation.
Energy savings can be seen in as little as 30 days. Pilot programs include 14 days of monitoring followed by 14 days of energy savings for comparison. Ecovolt plug-load sensors are non-intrusive and easy to deploy, requiring no electricians and no shutdown of electricity supply during installation.
Finally, Ecovolt provides a smarter, more affordable, and more efficient energy management system than the traditional options companies are using today. Join us in building a more sustainable and cost-efficient future!
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