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Electrical Wiring

Curious about electric usage - easy question

15 years ago

Can someone who knows something about electricity please explain. With all of this talk about being green, it has been suggested to unplug all unused electrical devises from outlets so as not to waste electricity. I understand how if the device has a led display it would still be using electricity, but what about something like a lamp? Do you use less electricity having an unused lamp unplugged? Does the lamp use a small amount of electricity even when not turned on? Which leads me to my next question, if it does, then would having less electrical wiring in your house use less electricity than having a lot of outlets and wiring that isn't really being used. Funny question, but I'm curious. Thanks!

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Comments (4)

davidandkasie
15 years ago
no load, no use. so a lamp with a regular switch on it would pull no juice at all when off. i am not sure about the touch lamps though.

basically, if the device in question has a "soft" off switch like a TV or newer electronics, or if it uses a wall wort, then it will always pull some current.

i have seriously thought about getting a "green switch" so that when we leave for the day it can kill all our chargers and other electronics. i jsut need to find one that can be shceduled when to come back on, as the sat RX takes 3-4 minutes to reinitialize and also sometimes we don't get home before soem of the scheduled shows come on so it would miss recording them.
joed
15 years ago
If it uses a remote or has a clock display it is using power. Some items include TV,VCR, DVD, garage door opener, microwave, stove, ceilng fans.
If it has one of the wall wart transformers it is using power. Some items include chargers, game console power packs, some printers.
If it turns off from a wall switch is is NOT using power. If it has a toggle switch it is not using power.
A PC is soft off unless you are using the snap switch on the back. Most monitors are also soft off.
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ohgoodness
Original Author
15 years ago
cool, thanks!
hrajotte
15 years ago
To answer your last question: Having a lot of unused wiring and outlets does not create any additional use or waste. Congratulations on thinking green. More of us need to do so. The idea is to reduce energy consumption, and thereby pollution, on a global scale. As the others have written, anything with a transformer (AKA a "wall wart"), devices operated by remote, and things with a built-in clock, draw a small amount of power at all times. In an average home, this could add up to 50-100 watts. Take the average of that range, 75 watts, which amounts to 1.8 KWH per day. Multiply X 365 days per year = 657 KWH. Multiply x $0.15 per KWH = $98.55 per year spent just to power these devices. Although this example doesn't consider the time of actual, productive use, you get the idea.
Now, this amount is probably a pittance of your actual electricity cost. The idea is that if a large amount of consumers reduce their demand even slightly, the global impact is immense. Remember that the electricity you use is mostly produced by burning fossil fuels or by nuclear fission, both of which have long-term environmental implications. In the coming decades, we will see a pronounced increase in use of wind, hydro, and solar power, perhaps tidal power, and with a little luck, research will result in hydrogen power and nuclear fusion becoming viable, efficient, and affordable energy sources.

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