Do Standing Desks Need To Be Plugged In?

There’s hardly any electric desk that doesn’t need to be plugged in. It’s the major difference between a crank and an electric standing desk. But the question is, should we always keep it that way? 

There’s no harm in keeping your standing desk plugged in during the active and the standby periods. The desk will draw 150 to 200W only when you activate the desk.

New standing desk users need clarification regarding how the desk gets powered and what they can do to save some bucks on the electricity bill. Unplugging the desk while it is not being used seems like a good option. But is it feasible? Let’s dig deep into it. 

Do Standing Desks Need Electricity All The Time?

In a sense, standing desks need an electricity supply all the time. It includes the time you are not actively using the desk for work or anything else.

Think of it like a computer. You don’t usually unplug it from the main power outlet. Keeping the standing desk plugged in makes sure it is on standby mode. 

What if we tell you that the electric desks were never meant to be unplugged? That’s why the manufacturers provided those short-cut height memory buttons. So that you can push the “1” button (for example), and the desk will rise up to 48 inches. You don’t have to put the height information manually using the keypad.

That’s possible due to the standby mode. When you keep the desk in this mode, any change you make to the memory will be saved. And you can enjoy the ease from the next trial.

Again, these memory buttons only work when the power surge is uninterrupted. So, it’s harmless to say your standing desk needs electricity all the time.

How Much Electricity Does An Active Standing Desk Consume?

The number of features and overall size of the desk decides how many watts of electricity will be drawn. For example, Uplift desks usually draw 200 watts from the power outlet. It might vary for other brands. But you know the range is between 140W to 200W.

It’s not continuous though. The electricity is required only when the desk is being used for adjusting heights. When the desk reaches its ideal position, the electricity supply reduces to zero watts (almost). 

How Much Electricity Does A Stand-By Standing Desk Consume?

Does it still draw 200W electricity from the outlet when you leave your desk? Absolutely, no. It requires only 0.2 watts for an electric desk to stand by. 

We have seen users get worried about their electricity bills. They think keeping the desk plugged in will affect their monthly bill. But as you can see, 0.2W is literally nothing. If we have to compare the pros and cons, unplugging your desk has more negative sides. You are not saving as much as you hoped. Plus, you have to manually fix the entire height adjustability all over again. It becomes a hassle if you activate the desk multiple times daily.

What Happens If I Unplug The Standing Desk?

People wonder whether the desk will go down as soon as the power cord comes out. But that’s not true. Unplugging the desk won’t lower the current height. You can still enjoy the desk height as it was. 

But the additional information you saved would be erased. For example, you might have a specific standing height saved under the keypads 1,2 or 3. As soon as you unplug the desk, the desk will reset all the settings automatically. It will go back to its original factory setting. The next time you activate the desk and want it to move upward, you have to adjust the height manually again.

That’s why try not to unplug the standing desk when your job is done.

When Is The Right Time To Unplug Your Standing Desk?

Even though it’s common practice to plug your standing desk into the outlet all time, there is an exception. It’s called a sudden power surge. You don’t have to worry if you have a surge protector connecting both the power line and the desk.

But it’s still a new word for many users. Those who don’t use such protection should unplug their desk when they notice lightning in the sky. It normally happens during rainstorms. So, be alert when the weather becomes dangerous.

Lightning bolts can affect the power line in your house, causing a spike in voltage. Your standing desk and any other electrical device have a maximum capacity (120V). If the power outlet provides more than that (up to 169V), the electrical devices might get severely damaged. It’s true for a standing desk as well.

So, keep that in mind. After the weather calms down, plug in the desk again. But before that, use a tester to find out the voltage of your home’s main power source.

Before You Go!

It should now make sense why the desk doesn’t work as usual after a reset. Since the memory program is deleted, the short-cut buttons don’t work. However, there’s another reason why the buttons don’t work. It’s called the LOC error within your standing desk. Please check out what LOC means and what you can do about it.