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BrianG
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Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Des Moines, IA
11.01.2007, 10:12 AM

Quote:
Originally Posted by crazyjr View Post
Why not just click the circut breaker in less used areas of the house?
Because most houses have multiple rooms on one breaker. Shutting off a breaker might affect more than you know. Also, I don't think I want to trudge downstairs in the dark corner of my basement to turn on/off the breaker so that I can save $0.20 per month from my cell phone wall-wart charger.

Breakers are NOT simply switches, they are over-current devices. If you wear them out with repeated on/off cycles, they may not trip when they are supposed to, or trip before they are supposed to. It's along the same lines as using a screwdriver as a prybar; sure, it may work, but it's not the intended use for the tool. And like I said, one breaker may control each side of the house, or several rooms, etc.

From my experience, those fliers from the elec co are a bit inflated. $30 savings a month is kinda hard on a $90 bill. You'd have to cut your power use by 33%. I still think switched power strips is the way to go on some of the smaller items.
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