In case you don't need any holding-torque (completely disabling the stepper motor), you have the following options to reduce the standby power drawn:
- The most energy-efficient way is to cut the VS power supply using a P-MOSFET when you have a battery-operated application. This single transistor solution is the most efficient, also when it comes to cost. You can even leave VCC_IO supplied as it only draws a few 10 µA.
- Reduce the clock frequency during standby periods. You can even switch off the clock after disabling the driver. This will lower the energy consumption by half but is only possible when you use external clock input.
In case you need some torque during standby:
- Reduce supply voltage during standby, e.g. from 24V to 5V. This will reduce standby energy consumption by ~80%.