Warning on unplugging to save money

 The hot rave today is "unplugging your devices when not in use."

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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Sounds more like a little FYI, than a "WARNING".

 
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.

 Bundy 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.

  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 (don@misty.com)

 On Oct 17, 2:55 am, d...@manx.misty.com (Don Klipstein) wrote:

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