Patent ID: 8624430

Claim:
A standby power system for an appliance having a power input coupled to a main power source, comprising: a power enabling device coupled electrically in series between the main power source and the power input of the appliance, the power enabling device being configured to electrically disconnect the power input of the appliance from the main power source and not consume electric power in a standby state; a standby state sensing device coupled to the power enabling device, the standby state sensing device being configured to monitor one or more conditions other than a load current to the power input of the appliance to detect the standby state and generate a standby state signal; and a power restore device coupled to the power enabling device configured to generate a power restore signal and cause the power enabling device to electrically connect the power input of the appliance to the main power source, wherein the power enabling device comprises a reset side electrically coupled to the standby state sensing unit configured to receive the standby state signal and a set side electrically coupled to the power restore device to receive the power restore signal, the power enabling device only consuming electrical power during receipt of the standby state signal or the power restore signal.