Switch off at the wall or unplug completley?

Ebe_Scrooge

The only time I unplug is when I'm going on holiday, or going to be away from the house for several days for whatever reason. I just have a sneaking worry that if the house should be struck by lightning, it could send a surge round the cables and fry anything that's plugged in. Or there could be "something else" that causes a surge for some inexplicable reason. The logical part of me knows I'm been totally daft here, but it's just one of my little things :-) And yeah, I know if the house was struck by lightning, a fried telly is the least of my worries !

evoke

I never switch off completely or unplug anything. I leave everything that I can on standby. Today's electronics consume so little power that leaving them on standby makes virtually no difference cost-wise to unplugging them.

However, electronics don't like power cycling - that's when components are stressed and more likely to fail (i.e. if you keep unplugging something and then plugging it back in to switch it on).

27col

My dear old mum used to think that electricity leaked out if there was no bulb in the lamp holder. This was back in the 1950's and we did not have a single power point in the house. The only electrical appliance was an electric iron, which got its power from a lamp adapter plugged into the ceiling rose. I shudder when I think of it now.

Ebe_Scrooge

evoke wrote: »

I never switch off completely or unplug anything. I leave everything that I can on standby. Today's electronics consume so little power that leaving them on standby makes virtually no difference cost-wise to unplugging them.

However, electronics don't like power cycling - that's when components are stressed and more likely to fail (i.e. if you keep unplugging something and then plugging it back in to switch it on).

Some interesting figures here :

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/experts/article-2057727/How-does-cost-leave-household-appliances-standby.html

I can't vouch for the veracity of these figures, but they show a range of common applicances which together consume about 80W on standby. Not a huge amount, admittedly, but enough to be significant I would argue.

Ebe_Scrooge

27col wrote: »

My dear old mum used to think that electricity leaked out if there was no bulb in the lamp holder.

This seems to be a common story with the older generation, my grandma was the same. I think it stems from the fact that they were used to gaslight, and if you took the mantle out then gas WOULD leak out and they used to plug it with a cork. Sorry, not 100% sure of the technicalities, but I'm sure it was something like that.

Then of course, along comes electricity, they don't really understand it, so they assume it acts the same as gas.

Myser

Ebe_Scrooge wrote: »

The only time I unplug is when I'm going on holiday, or going to be away from the house for several days for whatever reason. I just have a sneaking worry that if the house should be struck by lightning, it could send a surge round the cables and fry anything that's plugged in. Or there could be "something else" that causes a surge for some inexplicable reason. The logical part of me knows I'm been totally daft here, but it's just one of my little things :-) And yeah, I know if the house was struck by lightning, a fried telly is the least of my worries !

This is absolutely correct. You would unplug an appliance and telephone cables during a thunderstorm to prevent a surge damaging connected equipment and potentially causing a fire. Alternatively, you can use good quality surge protected multi-way extension leads and telephone line surge arrestors. Often, both are available in one product.

If you just want to conserve energy use, switching off the socket is sufficient.

27col wrote: »

The only electrical appliance was an electric iron, which got its power from a lamp adapter plugged into the ceiling rose. I shudder when I think of it now.

It was common and convenient back then to power an iron from a light socket. This isn't done now as irons are higher power and wall sockets are more prevalent.

macman

Many properties were wired with electric lights long before they received power sockets. In those days, sockets were fairly pointless, as there wasn't much for sale that you could plug into them!

Norman_Castle

Ebe_Scrooge wrote: »

Some interesting figures here :

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/experts/article-2057727/How-does-cost-leave-household-appliances-standby.html

I can't vouch for the veracity of these figures, but they show a range of common applicances which together consume about 80W on standby. Not a huge amount, admittedly, but enough to be significant I would argue.

These are from 2008 and appear to be older devices measured using a cable clip, Owl type monitor.(The source site offers to loan them) These monitors are not accurate at low power.
Battery charger in use, 14 watts?. Mine uses less than 2.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Watt_Initiative

anotheruser

And how are YOU monitoring electricity use on particular devices?
Feel free to include detail and links.

Norman_Castle

anotheruser wrote: »

And how are YOU monitoring electricity use on particular devices?
Feel free to include detail and links.

Is this question for me?. I use one of these. http://smartgreenshop.co.uk/index.php/powerplus-energy-meter.html.