Most household appliances use electricity only when in use  Many microwave ovens, however, have built-in clocks and so use some electricity even when they are not in use  The clocks each consume about 45 kilowatt-hours per year
Ttherefore, households whose microwave oven has no built-in clock use 45 kilowatt-hours per year less, on average, than do comparable households whose microwave oven is otherwise similar but has a built-in clock
Households whose microwave oven does not have a built-in clock are no more likely to have a separate electric clock plugged in than households whose microwave oven has one.