Mobile phone chargers left plugged in?

davetrousers

mistyarthur wrote: »

I'm confused does it cost money to leave my phone charger plugged into the wall, theres no lights on it or anything...

Basically yes, because a transformer is a circuit so therefore it draws some power, my question really was how much (in cost terms) does it draw? If the transformer is warm then it is drawing power.

moonrakerz

This is quite a good explanation:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transformer#Basic_principles

SANJ

this person is a a scientist and a very good one... he was ****** off at the "bbc saying that people leaving their mobile chargers plugged in were a major cause of global warming, so he did a simple test.
http://www.inference.phy.cam.ac.uk/sustainable/charger/

not that he wouldn't want people to unplug their chargers, just that their are other major sources of energy wastage not being given enough attention...
I recommend you read his book as well- it's free and very detailed, scroll down to the bottom.

Sue-UU

Ours are charged then the chargers taken out and put away, every time!

David Attenborough said he pledged to do the same a year or so ago, so to my mind it says that leaving them in/on must soak up the juice. So, - if in doubt pull it out!!;)

Cardew

SANJ wrote: »

this person is a a scientist and a very good one... he was ****** off at the "bbc saying that people leaving their mobile chargers plugged in were a major cause of global warming, so he did a simple test.
http://www.inference.phy.cam.ac.uk/sustainable/charger/

not that he wouldn't want people to unplug their chargers, just that their are other major sources of energy wastage not being given enough attention...
I recommend you read his book as well- it's free and very detailed, scroll down to the bottom.

The thrust of his argument is absolutely correct.

People continually over-emphasise the level of standby power consumption - particularly TVs and mobile chargers.

Obviously every little helps, but let us get the savings into perspective.

Switching TVs off at the mains, and unplugging mobile chargers etc, will have a very small effect on your overall electricity bill.

Anyway heat produced by the half a watt from your charger is not wasted as it goes to heat the room!!!!

moonrakerz

Sue-UU wrote: »

Ours are charged then the chargers taken out and put away, every time!

David Attenborough said he pledged to do the same a year or so ago, so to my mind it says that leaving them in/on must soak up the juice. So, - if in doubt pull it out!!;)

If you were to work out the energy used, you would probably find out that you "waste" more energy by unplugging the unit, walking across the room, opening the drawer, putting it in, closing the drawer then going back to your armchair than the charger would if left on for ever !

David Attenborough may be a superb naturalist and TV man but he is not too hot on energy wastage, Why do people in the street believe any statement from a celebrity ??

Sue-UU

moonrakerz wrote: »

If you were to work out the energy used, you would probably find out that you "waste" more energy by unplugging the unit, walking across the room, opening the drawer, putting it in, closing the drawer then going back to your armchair than the charger would if left on for ever !

David Attenborough may be a superb naturalist and TV man but he is not too hot on energy wastage, Why do people in the street believe any statement from a celebrity ??

....but that's my energy 'wasted', if that's how you term it. I'd far sooner do that and do my bit in any other way and try... rather than wish I'd done so - along with many other energy saving things - further down the line. I'm quite happy to be proved wrong, until then where's the harm in giving it all I've got. I have youngsters and they have little ones and it's those I care for and will do ALL I can to help THEIR lives - NOW!!!! That way I at least won't live with regrets later!

I don't believe just any statement spouted by celebrities, but I believe enough to listen to David Attenborough and others like him who DO have some knowledge. Don't we all owe it to the next generation to at least try....and maybe be wrong?!

Time will tell, but meantime there are plenty like me who are prepared to give it our best shot so that other generations of people and animals might at least last longer.

Sue

moonrakerz

Sue-UU wrote: »

....but that's my energy 'wasted', if that's how you term it. I'd far sooner do that and do my bit in any other way and try... rather than wish I'd done so - along with many other energy saving things - further down the line. I'm quite happy to be proved wrong, until then where's the harm in giving it all I've got. I have youngsters and they have little ones and it's those I care for and will do ALL I can to help THEIR lives - NOW!!!! That way I at least won't live with regrets later!

I don't believe just any statement spouted by celebrities, but I believe enough to listen to David Attenborough and others like him who DO have some knowledge. Don't we all owe it to the next generation to at least try....and maybe be wrong?!

Time will tell, but meantime there are plenty like me who are prepared to give it our best shot so that other generations of people and animals might at least last longer.

Sue

Whoa ! calm down.

Whether it's your energy or energy from a mobile charger it's still "wasted" energy going into the atmosphere bringing about the imminent death of the planet (if you believe Al Gore and his acolytes)

I don't waste energy for the simple reason that I am wasting my money. I must admit I really do despair when I read posts about how we must unplug our chargers and not leave our TV in "standby" when the advocates of this have their C/H set to high, use tungsten filament lights and drive their Range Rover to the recycling centre to dispose of two empty Chardonnay bottles !

frivolous_fay

moonrakerz wrote: »

Whoa ! calm down.

Whether it's your energy or energy from a mobile charger it's still "wasted" energy going into the atmosphere bringing about the imminent death of the planet (if you believe Al Gore and his acolytes)

Not really... if I walk across the room and unplug my charger, it saves a) my electricity bill and b) burns up a few calories, ultimately making me slightly less fat, less heavy, and thereby less of a fuel burden whenever I choose to travel via a method of transport that uses fossil fuels. The rest of the time, it will reduce wear and tear on my bicycle, reducing the need to consume raw material to replace the parts I won't wear out as fast. I won't be so heavy on the road and the council will need to repair less frequently (they're very conscious of this... and they rarely do it anyway :rolleyes:)

briank5400

davetrousers wrote: »

OK own up, who leaves their mobile pone chargers plugged in and switched on when they're not charging their phone?

Could someone out some figures (ie cost) to how much money is wasted by phone chargers being left switched on? Is it pence or pounds?

Ok, I'll admit it.. I leave chargers etc plugged in all the time. The way I see it any electricity used while not charging my phone goes towards heating my house... ok, maybe not the most efficient! :rolleyes: