I have a question. Please don't laugh.

[tel0004]

Leaving a modern cell phone charger plugged in uses very very little electricity. Maybe a few pennies a year. If you want to save electricity there are better ways to do it.

[blktoptrvl]

Originally Posted by diddlydudette

Thanks! Good to know and thanks for not laughing out loud.

Well while we're kind of on the subject, I've had a friend mention that if not in use she unplugs any electrical item with a clock such as a microwave, VCR/DVD and that type thing. Anyone experiment with that and compare their electric bill? I wonder if turning off those type items makes that much a difference.

Only if you had thousands of those things in your house. For clocks, and phone chargers (like the type with indicator lights - and induction units like described in a previous post), they will draw a little power, but not enough to make much of a difference on your bill.

But there are some people who do not want to consume any power at all (for some reason), In this case everything is unplugged when not being used because they don't know the internal mechanisms.

[Gandalara]

According to the Department of Energy, vampire appliances and electronics use about 4% or 5% of the energy in an average home. When you include all homes in the U.S., that totals about 52 billion kWh per year or about 26 average-size power plants.

There's a simple "How much do vampire appliances cost?" calculator on that page.

I use power strips on my computer and TV equipment.
If I'm going to be gone for 3 or more days, everything gets unplugged except for the refrigerator.

[Tallysmom]

Originally Posted by tel0004

Leaving a modern cell phone charger plugged in uses very very little electricity. Maybe a few pennies a year. If you want to save electricity there are better ways to do it.

Yes -- but my cell phone charger, husband's cell phone charger, the calculator powerpack plug, the printer powerpack plug, the laptop powerpack plug, the desktop powerpack plug, the three daily used exercise machines powerpack plugs, the wifi unit powerpack plug and those are the ones I can think of off the top of my head, so you know they are lots more -- those are a lot of pennies, and those pennies add up to dollars.

One cell phone? totally agree with you.

[Miller88]

All of my cell phone chargers draw absolutely nothing when they are not charging - according to my kill-o-watt meter. Everything else seems to draw power.

Laptop power chargers, transformers for the router, TV, etc are all drawing power.

I have an instant-on CRT style TV that draws more power OFF than my LCD tv draws ON. It's crazy!

[duster1979]

Originally Posted by Miller88

All of my cell phone chargers draw absolutely nothing when they are not charging - according to my kill-o-watt meter. Everything else seems to draw power.

Laptop power chargers, transformers for the router, TV, etc are all drawing power.

I have an instant-on CRT style TV that draws more power OFF than my LCD tv draws ON. It's crazy!

Some power supplies complete the circuit internally, these are the ones that use electricity even when nothing is plugged into it. Others complete the circuit through the device, these use no electricity when not being used.

The easiest way to tell what type you have is to feel it when nothing has been plugged into it for awhile. If it's warm it's using electricity; if it's room temperature, it's not.

[LivingDeadGirl]

Originally Posted by Gandalara

According to the Department of Energy, vampire appliances and electronics use about 4% or 5% of the energy in an average home. When you include all homes in the U.S., that totals about 52 billion kWh per year or about 26 average-size power plants.

There's a simple "How much do vampire appliances cost?" calculator on that page.

I use power strips on my computer and TV equipment.
If I'm going to be gone for 3 or more days, everything gets unplugged except for the refrigerator.

Same here and it isn't even so much about power useage and being a cheap skate but I have an abnormal fear of fire so the fewer electrical things plugged in, the better. I have a cursed life in this respect: I've had 2 washing machines, a toaster oven and an iron catch fire.

[Buckeye Burgher]

Electronic timers and such consume relatively little power. Most could run for a month or more on a couple of AA batteries. I think you would see only a modest reduction in your power bill if you unplugged them all.

Incandescent light bulbs are another matter. They can consume as much energy as some small radio stations.
Most of it going to produce heat rather than light. But if the filament is burnt out then the circuit inside the bulb has been broken and no electricity is being used.

[whirnot]

We reduced our electric bill by 22% by putting things such as Stereos, computers, chargers etc on power strips or switched outlets. As Miller88 stated above, just get a Kill a watt tester. About $25 and it will pay for itself fast. Little things may not make a huge difference but they add up. My average electric bill for a 2700 square foot home is $45 year round. Gas is another $20 in winter.