Should You Unplug Chargers to Save Energy?
There is this concept name Vampire Power, which is the amount of energy that devices consume when in standby mode.
I’ve talked about myths and usage mistakes of mobile device batteries before. Now let’s address their energy consumption.
Smartphones are probably the equipment we charge the most throughout the year. We usually leave the chargers plugged into the electrical outlet for the next usage.
The question then follows: Should you unplug chargers to save energy?
There is this concept name Vampire Power, which is the amount of energy that devices consume when in standby mode.
Considering this, and answering the question above, there is seemingly no problem in leaving the charger on the electrical outlet as it consumes no energy while on standby.
In a test conducted by How-To Geek, there were plugged 6 chargers individually and all of them registered a 0.0-watt consumption, while on standby for one hour.
In a second test, they were all plugged at the same time, via an extension. The consumption here was 0.3 watts.
And why was that? This was just because of the extension’s LED light and not because of the chargers.
That would be around 2.628 kilowatts in a year. Well in Portugal, the simple tariff is around €0,15 per kilowatt, which sets the total cost of €0,39 per year.
Given this, it’s safe to assume that you can leave your charger plugged in as it won’t break your finances.
Inspired by a fellow creator, I decided to challenge myself to publish 100 short-form articles within January. This is article number 60.
