A staggering 95 per cent of the power used by mobile phone chargers is wasted, because the charger still sucks from the mains even when the phone is not attached. That means you are being charged for nothing. Quick, turn it off now! Then sit back with a cuppa and think of all the money you're saving by doing nothing!
I forced myself to do this everyday for about a month and now it is second nature to me.
Just added a Green Tip to this website and i am waiting to see if it wins me a GREEN XMAS STOCKING... hey ho
http://www.biomelifestyle.com/blog/alternative-advent-calendar/
I have a bank of chargers all plugged in, all the time - but each socket has an 'off' switch - so no power draining when they aren't in use.
This is simple, charge when its dead, then when fully charged put the charger away and then there is no phantom power drain...
I even turn of my mobile when it's charging and when I don't need it.
ye i used to leave my phone on all night
It's so easy to switch off my phone charger. I don't understand why I didn't do it earlierXD
It's so easy to switch off my phone charger. I don't understand why I didn't do it earlierXD
My husband is laughing on me that i go behind everyone in the house and turn off lights and switch off everything like chargers, TV an so on. First it was like to save energy=money, but now I consider it like save energy=nature.
I read an article long ago about this and started it then...like 2 years ago ;) A complete goal for me !:)
lol I've always done this!! :)
It just seemed the sensible thing to do... :)
Gt into the habit of unplugging charger, so just charge for 1 hour thn unplug.
I've been unplugging/switching off for years. A habit I got into after seeing a TV that wasnt on, but pludded in, blow up in a storm, and also its beacuse I hate white noise.
I started doing this since earth day and realized it wasn't that hard to do!
Since joining edenbee I have been a lot more aware of things like this.
This last few weeks I have always been unplugging the charger, at home and at work, its a small act but it makes a difference.
I bought an adapted cover plate for my electrical socket that has pocket big enough for my charger. When I am done using it, I automatically unplug the charger and stick it in the pocket when I unplug my phone. It eliminates the chance that I might not unplug it because I have no place to put it.
Something very similar to the Nokia charger was demo'ed at Demo08: the Greenplug (http://www.greenplug.us). It's an intelligent charger that speaks to the device to determine its charging needs via a special power protocol.
Watch the demo here: http://www.demo.com/demonstrators/demo2008/124686.html
Here's a nice little idea from Nokia to sort this one out!
http://conversations.nokia.com/home/2008/04/nokia-design--3.html
I find it incredibly useful that the UK has on/off switches for the electrical outlets. Something I never thought about growing up in the US, but it seems so obvious.
Mobile phone chargers that are plugged in the grid (mains) are quite inefficient: on average around 60%. Electricity generated by a fossil fuel power station is about 35% efficient. Nett efficiency: ~21%
Car mobile phone chargers a fairly efficient: ~80%. Electricity generated from fuel by the engine/alternator is very inefficient: ~25%. Nett efficiency: ~20%.
The difference in efficiency between charging your mobile phone in your car or in at home is very small and we are only talking about 20Wh for a full charge (4 Wh @ 20% eff.).
My advice: charge your phone in the in the car (if you are using one anyway), at least you will not forget to turn the charger off.
Just for your info, any extra electrical load on the cars system, such as headlights, telephones or stereo equipment result in extra fuel consumption. You're probably better off charging devices at home, especially if you get your power from a renewable source.
I do most of my iPhone charging in the car since I either use it for music through the stereo, or just use the car charger. I hardly ever have to charge it in the house. Or I'll just let it charge through the laptop while it's charging.
Such a simple thing to do..and why look at wires hanging out of the wall. I always do this when the charging is done. My six year old even unplugs his DS Lite charger so anyone can do it. Buying a camera with a rechargable battery is also a good eco measure
I try and do this most of the time, although sometimes I'm lazy and charge up overnight. Very bad!
I used to have a USB charger for my phone. It was great! I would just plug into my computer (often my laptop when I was on the go) and charge for just as long as I needed to. It was one of those handy self-retracting cables too.
Then I lost it. My phone is so old that I can't find a replacement anywhere.
But for anyone who can find a USB charger for their phone, I highly recommend it: when you're traveling, it means you've got one less bulky plug to pack. And, of course, you've got one less plug plugged into the wall drawing power all the time.
My water saving goal for the loo:
If its yellow, let it mellow
If its brown, flush it down
I wrote this goal when I was working on the Edenbee website and ever since I have remembered to take my charger out of the wall when it isn't in use.
And I do sit back with a cup of tea and think about how much money I'm saving. Muahahahaaaa.
I didn't realise until recently that chargers draw current even when the phone isn't plugged into them.
I never keep the charger plugged into the wall unless it's actually charging my phone.
Like so many of these things, it's just a matter of habit.
Googling reveals this...
http://www.inference.phy.cam.ac.uk/sustainable/charger/
As far as I'm concerned though any saving is a good saving!
Thank you AlunR. I, as well, have done a bit of Google-searching, but have not found anything definitive. The most authoritative piece I read is specific to Nokia chargers (http://www.cellular-news.com/story/23664.php)
Still no word on iPhones charging through mini-usb via computer, but yes, I appreciate that small steps are valuable.
Thanks for the reply.
I recently purchased some energy monitors to measure and hopefully reduce the energy consumption in the home and businesses.
The Owl and the Efergy are the two units I chose.
I really like the Owl for the following reasons,
Nicely made
Made in UK
Good display
However, it doesn’t record the energy consumption. This is a pity as this feature makes the Efergy a winner, despite it being of inferior quality and make in China. With the record of energy consumption, one can look back and see if ones efforts have paid off.
This feature in the Owl would make it the clear winner.
I hate myself for giving this answer but your phone charger draws next to no power when it is plugged in and not in use!
I've just plugged 3 phone chargers into the same extension lead running through my power meter and there was no increase in wattage. This means they were pulling less than a third of a watt each. So if you left them on all day it would be less than 8watt/hours or less than 3 kwh a year.
I'm not sure what 3kwh's of electricity adds to your annual carbon footprint but I'm guessing about the same as driving 3 miles, so each time you leave your phone charger plugged-in force yourself to walk to the shops rather than driving, it'll make a much bigger difference.
Short answer, not a lot. I did a test -- see half-way down here:
http://www.smartplanet.com/news/tech/10001014/hands-on-the-eco-minded-nokia-3110-evolve.htm
I had anticipated that it was not much. There's a good deal of speculation, and not much science in many claims.
Thank you to SharpSharp and smartplanet for sharing their results.
One easy way to find out if your phone charger is drawing energy plugged or unplugged is feel it. If heat is being generated, energy is being used.
As phone chargers use a coil to scale the volts down from 250v to your phones voltage, there is potential for heat to be produced there. However depending on your chargers circuitry, unless the circuit is complete there will be no energy flow and therefore no energy used.
I never knew this.
Heh, but do you realise how many mobiles I have ;)
about the same as it took you to type your message? :p
I agree, you are so lazy dctanner
try the standby buster device, from energy-centre.co.uk. Allows you to remotely switch off sockets, so you don't have to grovel behind the tv or pc or whatever. Genius.
Haha, admittedly, i think that, but then the guilt kicks in. You realise that actually it is sooo easy. It is very lazy dctanner, shameful ;P
I just finished charging my phone when I joined here earlier today. So I just went and switched off the plug - left the charger in though. I hope I remember to switch it on again when I want to charge it again. . .
