Question: I (with the help of an HVAC professional) installed a ductless, split system. It's a 24,000 BTU, single head system. What surprised me is how much energy (relative to everything else in the house) it uses while in the off/stand-by mode.

It's on a dedicated circuit, and I calculated using my Aeotec Home Energy Monitor that it's continuously using about 130 W with no visible operation. The head/air handler is "off", no noise from the compressor, compressor fan is not moving, etc. 

Is this common for systems to use this much energy in stand-by or does it indicate something may be wrong with the wiring or connections?

Additional notes: 

1. My system doesn't make an off/standby distinction. There is just an off button on the remote. I use the terms interchangeably b/c while it is "off" it is still drawing 130 W of power.
2. The home energy monitor uses clamps (one on each incoming 120V main line). I know it's ~ 130 W by monitoring the usage for 5 min, throwing the 2 pole breaker for the A/C, calculating the diff, and then turning it back on to verify. It appears to be fairly accurate for other circuits that I've tested (e.g. ~15 W for an LED lamp, < 1 W for an in-panel surge protector, ~60-70 W for the fridge, spikes +1000 W for the microwave, etc.)

[![Home Energy Monitor Report](https://i.stack.imgur.com/ZsWXB.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/ZsWXB.png)

Answer: 
My Mitsubishi mini splits use .75 kwh each when "off". When you are only allotted 22 kw per day, they severely eat in to my allotment.
I have to turn the breakers completely off, or I go over my "allowed" consumption.
In general most equipment or appliances that have electronic controls will use some AC while the equipment is in the off position. You just mentioned you turn your unit on and off with a remote. So there must be power to sense the remote and its calls to start etc. Also the need for the consumer to want instant start for their equipment, manufacturer's design power circuits that remain continually warm so they get that response.

All that being said. We would really not know if the amount you measured is accurate, or is high or low by industry standards unless we had some sort of engineering data base that would give us that information. To get that you would probably have to be part of that type of manufacturer.