Unplugging things- how much does it really save?

[DivaJen]

Dh and I were discussing this the other night. For those of you that do this - what kind of impact has it made on your electric bill?

[Ima saver]

I don't do it, but I cannot imagine it would make much difference!

[pyotr]

It makes no appreciable difference to your bills. You could buy one of these: EnergyBuddy to see for yourself. The big differences you could easily make are: reduce your thermostat in the winter, raise it in the summer, get a programmable one and program it to extremes, reduce usage of your hot water, dryer, washer(s), oven, get energy-star low volume refrigerators, switch all your lightbulbs to .CF blubs

[Fern]

I have to disagree completely. I, too, didn't think ordinarily things like lamps and such would have much mpact on my electric bill, but consider this: In CT, electric rates increased at the start of the year by about 22%. Huge outcry, but they didn it anyway.

So all month long, i made a conscious effort to turn off lights after leaving a room, and thta sort of thing. Living alone, i really like having more light on in the evenings in various rooms that i may be moving in and out of, but this time i really tried to be careful not to do that. The results? My electric bill for January was $73, about the same as it's always been!

It DOES make a difference. And that bill was at that level even despite using a space heater in the bedroom.

[Ima saver]

Good answer, pyotr. I turn my heat down to 60 and wear sweaters. I turn off my hot water heater 23 hours a day. I wash in cold and try to dry 2 loads in the dryer. I try and run my dryer at night, so I can heat the garage up for my dog.

[pyotr]

I'm not saying it won't make any difference, but if you get yourself one of those meters, you can calculate exactly how much difference it makes - the man on the grinning planet I think overestimates the difference big time PER PERSON - I'm sure it will save the entire electrical grid quite a bit if everyone unplugged en masse.

Don't rely on other's opinions because everyone's equipment and usage is different. Just get one of these digital meters, plug it into a socket. Note the readout and write it down. Now go around your house and unplug everything that can be unplugged (don't unplug your refrigerator, air-conditioning/heater unit or your phone unless you're going 19th century). Now see the difference. Check the readout when your HVAC is running and when your refrig is whirring or when your answering maching is running etc. You'll have to average out the readouts over time with most of your home eletrical gear unplugged and plugged in. Now look at your last electrical bill and take out for taxes, fees, you'll then be able to calculate the difference. For me, the difference was not much. I got more savings from changing over the lightbulbs and from changing the thermostat.

[Ima saver]

That sounds interesting. Where can you get one of those meters?

[PrincessPerky]

I think it might depend on what you unplug, a microwave doesn't use much, niether does anything else, but all together...

I estimate a couple bucks a month, but... It is actually more, if the computer has to be power stripped on and off then it is often off, and I often do not go turn it back on for a second round if I only have 15 minutes, so the reduced use helps me think before I use power. End result is a lower electricity bill than anyone I know (avg 30 non summer air months, 50 in july and august for air)

[Ima saver]

Wow, that is low! How big is your house?

[pyotr]

I don't mean to just dismiss the small electrical equipment as a non-consideration because in sum total, they do make up one of the (if not the largest) source of your annual electricity usage. But this is for the equipment being used actively to draw current from your grid. Everyone should do a HOME ENERGY AUDIT to see what we're talking about by clicking here: http://hes.lbl.gov/

Things like your AC/heating systems, water heater, refrigerator/freezer are not practical to turn off and these are actually your biggest consumers. Other major appliances like washer/dryer/stove etc. are not going to draw electricity when not being used. Some electrical current loss at rest ("non-used" electrical equipment) is probably from all those devices "charging up" in your house - your cell phone, rechargeable batteris in cordless vacs, flashlights, etc. Turned off computers, printers, ovens, radios, tvs, are going to draw next to no electricity. But some people have fancy computer systems, stereo systems and entertainment centers with plasma tvs which are in a state of "pre-ON" position which are going to draw a lot more electricity.

To be really eco-conserving minded, I should change my original statement to say that YES, YOU SHOULD UNPLUG YOUR UNUSED/UNNEEDED SMALL APPLIANCES, but we're talking about savings in the neighborhood of less than $5 per month. Doing this is not going to help out your personal bottom line much, but IT WILL HELP THE SUM TOTAL OF ENERGY USAGE BY US ALL.

[DivaJen]

Interesting replies. I've gotten into the habit of unplugging the hair dryer, the toaster, the iron and other things that don't get used daily. I was curious as to what others were finding who are being more drastic about it, uplugging practically everything.

We already turn out lights when leaving rooms, lowered our thermostat (which is programmable), etc. etc. I was just curious specifically about the effects of unplugging items.

[lrjohnson]

Very interesting thread for me. We are all flourescent bulb, gas stove and water, zero eletric heat, and yet our electricity bill is crazy. I mean like the electric part of $200. Yes, we have an electric dryer, but we line dry a lot, and in the summer when we line dry most it seems to make very little impact. We do have a lot of electronic stuff-well, computer stuff-extra servers and monitors and printers (my guy is a geek). But it seems like these shouldn't draw all the time. I've wondered if our wiring being so old just makes things inefficient in and of itself. We think some of the wiring may even be original to the time of installation-house built 1897. The old fahioned wires run up the walls, and the light switches are a hoot. Fun, and neat to look at, but crazy to pay 3 times what friends do WITHOUT a heater going! I might unplug the microwave, coffe grinder, etc. , as well as printers, etc. and see if that helps.

[contrary1]

Perhaps it doesn't save all that much to unplug unused items..........however, I think it makes me more conscious of the constant stream of energy we're using here. Unplugging something makes me aware & that is good. So, the unplugging might not save much in itself, but if I'm seeing these little hints around the house they help my attitude towards saving.

I loved the idea someone posted about trying to only have 3 things on at a time! I don't know if I'm ever going to get to that stage of saving, unless I ask everyone else here to move!!

[cercis]

But a toaster or a hair dryer - they can't possibly be drawing passive electricity. Unless it's a fancy toaster or something. A microwave without the clock, etc shouldn't draw any passive electricity either.

Electronics with "pre-on", yes. If your TV resets the channels everytime you lose power, then it's drawing electricity while off. Things with clocks - clearly drawing power. Most small appliances, though, don't draw passive electricity. You can buy a device (WATThound or something like that) to check to see how much power an appliance is drawing (just plug the appliance into the device and the device into the wall). This works to check your fridge, freezer, microwave (at rest and at work) etc.

In other news, I gave away my incandescent bulbs. One of my co-workers is working parttime and for practically minimum wage (she has no college degree) so I explained the situation and asked her if she could use them. She was sooo happy to get them, her grandparents are helping her out with renting a new house and there were no bulbs at all.

[PrincessPerky]

Next time you consider unplugging something put your hand on the 'box' (if it has one) the big giant plugs, they get hot, I am certain that heat is electricity being used.

and I have a small house 1100 sq foot, but my electric bill is also smaller than people with similar sized homes.

and 2 bucks a month is 24 a year, where else can you make 24 bucks for a half hours worth of work? (10 minutes to switch to a strip, 10 seconds in switching on or plugging in each day)

[cercis]

I remembered the name of the device - Kill-a-watt. Several of my more environmental friends have them and would be more than willing to lend to me, except I no longer live in their city.

[Ima saver]

Well, i checked around my house and found four things I knew are pulling power, but we do not need them on. One was my typewriter, the other was a small electric heater that I keep by my feet next to the computer. (the red light was on) The light was also on, on a lamp with a sliding control in the dining room. We never eat there and never use that lamp. The biggest thing was a vcr (old) that has been flashing on and off for 10 years in our kitchen cabinet. Never use that vcr!!
I turned off my dog's elec. blanket, but will turn it on again tonight.

[flash]

I think it depends! For instance, if you have cable tv, chances are you use a all-in-one remote and turn off the cable when not watching, but the tv itself is still on. So, when you turn the cable, the tv is already warmed up and you get an immediate picture. But, the tv is on all the time, and it wears on the tv and does draw some power.

Here is another thought about unplugging, though. Our house has been struck by lightening once, and had a major power outage from a storm. In both cases computers were plugged in, but off, and both were fried. In the strike, which hit our chimney, the charge traveled down through the electrical lines, phone lines, cable tv. We had to replace four phones, two cable boxes, the interior cable lines and junctures, one interior phone line/jack, two garage openers, the tv, a toaster, etc.

Yes, we had surge protectors on some things. The computers were lost because the modem lines were plugged in, power coming through the phone line got them even though the surge protector kept it from coming through the power line.

When in doubt, disconnect.

[Fern]

I saved $15 last month, simply by conscientiously turning off lights and TV sets when not in that room. I do live alone, so that may account for some of it.

I keep my house at 60 all day long, and some nights i put it down to 55. i have about 6 layers of blankets and a cat on the bed so it's quite comfortable.

[cercis]

Flash - you make a good point about computers. If they are plugged into ANYTHING (modem or wall) they are vulnerable. My laptop got taken out in a hotel when lightning struck. Thank goodness I was still under warranty - because the hotel was of the opinion that it was my problem, never mind they had no surge protectors.

In another instance I lost a modem (but not the computer) to another lightning strike. The computer was fine because it was plugged into a UPS with a surge protector. But don't count on the surge protection quality of power strips. They'll do some, but not lightning protection.