Warning on unplugging to save money
SimeonArgus
I just wanted to post -- for all of us frugal savers -- a quick word
of warning. You see, this advice is actually one of the top bits of
advice I've found. It really does save a ton of money. But be aware
that this only applies to devices that don't have a physical "kill"
switch.
For example, my computer can be powered on by touching a small button
on the front. That button is waiting to send an electrical pulse to
some internal electro-gizmo to start the boot process. Where do you
think the small button on the front is getting the electrical pulse?
Yep.. it trickles small amounts of electricity. Those small amounts
add up.
Now, take my washing machine, on the other hand. I have to push a knob
in until I hear a "click". That click is the sound of the connection
actually being made in the washer to start the process of using
electricity. While that knob is up, it doesn't trickle electricity, so
there's no need in unplugging it and plugging it every time I want to
use it.
Just a thought to ponder.
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Forrest
"SimeonArgus" <simeo...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:b46498c3-127d-4621...@k37g2000hsf.googlegroups.com...
Sounds more like a little FYI, than a "WARNING".
Al Bundy
It depends on the specific device. Even a lowly toasted can have a
live touchpad these days. One hundred "trickles" still ads up to
almost nothing. Again, it depends. The items with wall transformers
always take power. They do add up. By the way, I make short extensions
so those wall transformers can be plugged into strips without blocking
the next outlet. The key is to go around and see what your devices are
doing and act accordingly. Most people don't have the equipment or
inclination, but the resting output can easily be checked. They even
make simple plug-in tools that do all the work and give you a reading.
Others have posted about them here.
Don Klipstein
Bundy wrote:
>It depends on the specific device. Even a lowly toasted can have a
>live touchpad these days. One hundred "trickles" still ads up to
>almost nothing. Again, it depends. The items with wall transformers
>always take power. They do add up. By the way, I make short extensions
>so those wall transformers can be plugged into strips without blocking
>the next outlet. The key is to go around and see what your devices are
>doing and act accordingly. Most people don't have the equipment or
>inclination, but the resting output can easily be checked. They even
>make simple plug-in tools that do all the work and give you a reading.
>Others have posted about them here.
I have one of those Kill-A-Watt meters. My TV draws 11-12 watts when
it is off. My computer draws about 4 watts when it is off. My cable box
and my printer each draw about 1 watt when they are off. I forget what my
monitor draws when it is off, and I am using it now.
Modern cellphone chargers appear to me to take less than a watt if
pluggen in unused, maybe more like half a watt, but most other wallwarts
appear to me to comsume about 3/4-2 watts (mostly 1-1.5 watts) if
plugged in and unloaded.
I turn my computer speakers off when I don't need audio - but they draw
apparently a little under 1 watt when they are on but not receiving a
signal.
It appears to me that things like these can add up to a minority of
electrical power consumption that can be significant.
Something else along these lines: Do you have a few or several
incandescent nightlights that could each be consuming 4-7 watts 24/7?
Figure how much you save in 5 years if you replace them with green or blue
LED ones that consume .3-.4 watt apiece. (Many of the white ones probably
fade with halflife around a year or so.)
Although those look dim in daylight, they produce wavelengths that night
vision is very sensitive to. They will probably be usable at night,
though still dimmer than incandescent ones. Heck - the 4-7 watt
incandescent ones often come with shades!
- Don Klipstein (d...@misty.com)
meow...@care2.com
> In <06c6f224-4aed-4aaa-b4c6-31fa0a7bb...@y79g2000hsa.googlegroups.com>, Al
For the most part this talk about the joys of unplugging is just
greenwash. Most standby appliances eat as good as nothing, and the
physical act of unpugging and replugging them actually uses more
energy, physical resources (food) and money.
NT
larry
>> - Don Klipstein (d...@misty.com)
>
> For the most part this talk about the joys of unplugging is just
> greenwash. Most standby appliances eat as good as nothing, and the
> physical act of unpugging and replugging them actually uses more
> energy, physical resources (food) and money.
>
>
> NT
Saving energy has worked well for us, even at a few watts at
a time.
But please keep your vampires plugged in and warm. We need
those energy stock dividends for our retirement. ;-)
We did our best on energy, now we're working on those ever
so greedy government tacked on service and user fees that
have nothing to do with the bill they are on.
-- larry/dallas
Don Klipstein
meow...@care2.com wrote, edited for space:
>On Oct 17, 2:55 am, d...@manx.misty.com (Don Klipstein) wrote:
>>
>> I have one of those Kill-A-Watt meters. My TV draws 11-12 watts when
>> it is off. My computer draws about 4 watts when it is off. My cable box
>> and my printer each draw about 1 watt when they are off. I forget what my
>> monitor draws when it is off, and I am using it now.
>>
>> Modern cellphone chargers appear to me to take less than a watt if
>> pluggen in unused, maybe more like half a watt, but most other wallwarts
>> appear to me to comsume about 3/4-2 watts (mostly 1-1.5 watts) if
>> plugged in and unloaded.
>>
>> I turn my computer speakers off when I don't need audio - but they draw
>> apparently a little under 1 watt when they are on but not receiving a
>> signal.
>>
>> It appears to me that things like these can add up to a minority of
>> electrical power consumption that can be significant.
>
>For the most part this talk about the joys of unplugging is just
>greenwash. Most standby appliances eat as good as nothing, and the
>physical act of unpugging and replugging them actually uses more
>energy, physical resources (food) and money.
How many calories do I burn if I unplug and replug my TV? Jogging 1
mile burns 100 calories, so I am estimating 1, possibly 2 calories.
If I eliminate 11 watts of power consumption for 18 hours, that is 170
"large calories" - what food calories are. Since electric power
generation and distribution combined is about 35% efficient, the fuel
savings is more like 480 large calories.
If I unplug and replug my cellphone charger, I still avert fuel
consumption of 10-20 times the caloric content that I would have to eat to
do so.
- Don Klipstein (d...@misty.com)
Steve Daniels
something compelled d...@manx.misty.com (Don Klipstein), to say:
Wow.
That sounded really smart and all, but I didn't understand any of
it. Are you for unplugging stuff, or against it?
--
"The ABS system can not overcome the laws of physics."
Audi Owner's Manual
Don Klipstein
>On Fri, 31 Oct 2008 00:26:57 +0000 (UTC), against all advice,
>something compelled d...@manx.misty.com (Don Klipstein), to say:
>
>
>Wow.
>
>That sounded really smart and all, but I didn't understand any of
>it. Are you for unplugging stuff, or against it?
I am for unplugging stuff. I was responding to someone who claimed
incorrectly that unplugging stuff wastes more energy than it saves.
- Don Klipstein (d...@misty.com)
meow...@care2.com
> In <e43adc33-3ef5-4a7f-a540-56f845046...@y29g2000hsf.googlegroups.com>,
> meow2...@care2.com wrote, edited for space:
Few items use 11w on standby. Those that do, great, unplug if you
like, but lots dont.
Its also pointless to unplug when you can switch off at the socket.
NT
E Z Peaces
After repeatedly tripping a breaker when she tried to make coffee and
toast at the same time, my sister read somewhere that a toaster should
never be left plugged in because it's a fire hazard. She decided that
all countertop appliances should be left unplugged. I disagree.
Unplugging everything means you have to look for the right plug each
time you want to use an appliance, then remember to unplug it. Also,
wear and tear at the plug can cause an appliance to fail.
My old cordless phone and answering machine used to use a lot of power
standing by. I made only a few calls a month, but leaving it unplugged
wasn't feasible.
Current federal law limits wall warts to 0.5W when idle. There's not
much energy to save by unplugging one of these new ones unless it's
feeding a device that's drawing power when idle.
I have several criteria for unplugging things. How often do I use it?
How much standby power does it use? How convenient is the outlet? How
much would surge damage set me back? I routinely unplug my tabletop
battery charger because I use it only a few times a month and the outlet
is handy. I don't unplug my tabletop radio because I use it more than
once a day and the outlet isn't handy.
When ice brought down power lines several miles away, the surge cost me
a TV and a stereo receiver. When lightning hit my house "out of the
blue", I lost three stereo receivers and a CD player. Now I supply my
TV and stereo through a surge protector. This makes it convenient to
save standby power by switching everything off, and it has an on light
to remind me.
If we're talking about the kind of protector that responds in
nanoseconds and blows its fuse if an MOV fails, I wonder if an $80 model
is really much better than a $10 model.