putting a switch on the plugs in my house?

[t-maxxracer32]

hey guys i was bored yesterday thinking about this and was wondering how it would work.

as everyone knows electricity is a freakin crazy high bill, and i was thinking of ways of helping my parents out.

i figured that at night when everything is plugged into the socket it is pulling some amps and using unneeded power. if i could mod a switch onto it and make it to where they can turn off the power then would that make it to where there is alot less energy being used? or will it be so little that there will be no difference on the bill?

i honestly have no idea how to do this but if i find out it is worthwhile then ill turn off the power to my room and test it out to see if i can get it to work.

i think it would be cool if a simple thing like this could take 50 dollars off the phone bill.

[2FastSS4U]

Circuit breaker's work wonders but I doubt that the 'standby' power consumed would make a difference at all. I heard that leaving a computer on 24/7 racks up like a $50 electric bill I dont know if this is true though as I always leave mine on

[t-maxxracer32]

lol im guilty with that too... ill have to turn it on off at night and see if it makes a diff.

i was trying to find a website on it but really have no idea what to search for

I use a surge protector, and just turn it off when im done, I plug like 8 things into it normally

[suicideneil]

Hmm, in the UK the goverment is always harping on about turning off appliances when you are not using them. Supposedly, leaving a TV on standby uses almost as much electric as when its turned on- true or false I dont know, but I always turn the TV off with its power button, but leaving it switched on at the wall is fine. The only items turned on 24/7 are the fridge & vcr, everything else is either turned off at the wall, or switched off with its on/off button.

[BrianG]

All TV's, VCRs, PC's, etc that have a "soft power button" (meaning; it doesn't actually interrupt power but activates a logic circuit) consume some power. I am certain they do NOT consume the same power in standby vs "on", unless they are very low power devices to begin with (maybe a DVD player or VCR). The only problem with disconnecting these devices is that removing power can wipe memory (like the station presets in TV's/VCR/etc).

You can have your PC go into hibernation instead of standby. Standby powers down or reduces power to certain components, but still pulls current. Hibernation moves whatever is in memory to the harddrive and literally shuts down the whole PC. As such, it needs as much harddrive space as the amount memory you have, but not usually a big deal with today's drive capacities. However, hibernation takes just about as long to "boot up" as simply turning the PC on fresh. I guess it depends on if you want to continue where you left off or not...

If you use a lot of light, you can save power by using those energy efficient flourescent bulbs (the ones that have the same screw-type base as regular bulbs). They typically use around 70-80% less power since there is less wasted power as heat. They are substantially more expensive to buy though, but they DO last longer. Do not use them in the bathroom though because the moisture tends to shorten their life from my experience. You can also help by putting dimmer controls on regular bulbs. You can reduce power by 20%+ but the light level can be hardly noticeable. You can NOT use dimmers with flourescent bulbs though.

Those "wall warts" are parasites too. You know... those power supply box plugs that take up a lot of room. Even with no load, they can consume around 5 watts of power. Disconnecting these can help, but can be inconvenient.

It's generally a bad idea to use a circuit breaker as a switch. Using them as such can wear them out and may not trip at their rated load after a while.

The simplest way to conveniently cut power would be to use an appropriately-sized power strip, especially for those wall-wart plugs - just make sure you get one that has extra space specifically for them. Even though a power strip gives you more outlets but only takes up one wall outlet space, do NOT exceed 10A on one wall outlet because most receptables are typically only rated to 15A max - plus you don't want to overload the 12GA or 14GA wire you have in the wall.

[MTBikerTim]

That really depends on the TV. Some of the older tv's with standby really did suck the power (some of the not so old ones as well). The new ones will suck almost nothing in standby mode.

BrianG It's hard to believe but I have seen a demonstration with 2 Plasma displays where they were both running and drawing a similar amount of power. They were both Soft powered off and one panel dropped to a ridiculously small amount of power consumption as expected the other though dropped to about 70% of it's old consumption. It was amazing. Both plasmas were from the same company (no bias there) and just 6 months between models.

[suicideneil]

Interesting info about the 'wall-warts' (never heard them called that before), I never knew they could draw a current like that. Believe it or not though, there are a new generation of low-energy light bulbs that CAN be used with dimmer switches; havent seen any around, but there was an advert for them on the telly the other day. I should get some though, would help my electric bill a little. The only reason I never bought any before was because of price & the fact they take ages to 'warm up' to full brightness, and didnt like being turned on & off in quick sucession. Nower days though they are alot cheaper, warm-up almost instantly, and I can live with leaving them turned on or off depending on my movements around the flat.

[JThiessen]

Originally Posted by MTBikerTim

That really depends on the TV. Some of the older tv's with standby really did suck the power (some of the not so old ones as well). The new ones will suck almost nothing in standby mode.

BrianG It's hard to believe but I have seen a demonstration with 2 Plasma displays where they were both running and drawing a similar amount of power. They were both Soft powered off and one panel dropped to a ridiculously small amount of power consumption as expected the other though dropped to about 70% of it's old consumption. It was amazing. Both plasmas were from the same company (no bias there) and just 6 months between models.

I'm not sure that I agree with this. I know my Pioneer Elite Plasma draws a ton of power even when off (compared to a CRT). The amounts the plasma's draw was enough to make a coworker of mine refrain from buying one.

The biggest improvements I've been able to make have been the CFL's (compact flourescent lights), and energy efficient appliances. Howver, women tend to not like the light the CFL's put off, so use at your mothers discretion!

I also agree with the earlier statement about not using a circuit breaker. I also wouldnt install a swith for the plugs. To do it correctly, you'd likely spend more than they would save.

[t-maxxracer32]

i have the flourescent lights all around my house and im not the one to pay the bill so idk how much it helps but they sure do last a good while ive heard.

[suicideneil]

Im sure I've read something like 10x longer, though these days it probably alot more than that with the newest models of low energy bulbs.

[BrianG]

Originally Posted by suicideneil

Interesting info about the 'wall-warts' (never heard them called that before), I never knew they could draw a current like that. Believe it or not though, there are a new generation of low-energy light bulbs that CAN be used with dimmer switches; havent seen any around, but there was an advert for them on the telly the other day. I should get some though, would help my electric bill a little. The only reason I never bought any before was because of price & the fact they take ages to 'warm up' to full brightness, and didnt like being turned on & off in quick sucession. Nower days though they are alot cheaper, warm-up almost instantly, and I can live with leaving them turned on or off depending on my movements around the flat.

Well, 5w is only 40mA since we're talking about 120v here. That figure also depends on the size of the transformer. The smaller ones comsume less, larger ones more - but fairly close to that.

Yeah, the newer Fl bulbs seem to turn on and reach brightness quickly. But, they do start acting like the older style when they get to the end of their life.

All these methods to save power won't save a lot on a monthly basis, but you could shave $50 or more over the course of a year.

The biggest power hog is anything that has a heating element (dryer, house heater, hair dryers, etc). During the summer months, you could save a lot by hanging clothes outside to dry instead of using the dryer. Lowering the thermostat in the winter by even a couple degrees can help a lot too (assuming elec heat).

[Patrick]

Originally Posted by t-maxxracer32

i figured that at night when everything is plugged into the socket it is pulling some amps and using unneeded power. if i could mod a switch onto it and make it to where they can turn off the power then would that make it to where there is a lot less energy being used? or will it be so little that there will be no difference on the bill?

Are you saying that your power points don't have built in switches? Because I've never seen one without a switch.

In Western Australia there are ads saying to turn anything off at the wall that doesn't need to be on, because it can save a lot of electricity in the long run.

On tv here there is a show called the "New Inventors". One guy made a switch that you plug into the wall, then whatever you had plugged in before plugs into the back of the switch (piggyback). It had about 4ft or so of wire coming from it with a switch at the end to disconnect the power from the piggybacked appliance. The reason for the extended wire is so you don't have to climb around behind your tv and dvd player's to reach the switch, you just have the end of the switch sitting next to the tv.

[Hickoryhead]

Originally Posted by Patrick

On tv here there is a show called the "New Inventors". One guy made a switch that you plug into the wall, then whatever you had plugged in before plugs into the back of the switch (piggyback). It had about 4ft or so of wire coming from it with a switch at the end to disconnect the power from the piggybacked appliance. The reason for the extended wire is so you don't have to climb around behind your tv and dvd player's to reach the switch, you just have the end of the switch sitting next to the tv.

I saw something like this on TV here in the United States the other day. Except it had a wireless switch. It was used for lights. Instead of bending over to turn the switch on the light itself off you piggy backed it into a wall outlet. Then the wireless switch had double sided tape on it. You could put it any where you want. Presto, no need to touch the lamp ever again. It sounds to me like another reason not to get off my fat butt. Just like the people who search for hours for a remote to their TV or DVD player instead of walking over to the TV and using the buttons on it.

As for saving energy by turning things off by unpluging electronics you can save $20 to $30 a month. I got a flier in the mail not long ago from my power company. I don't know how they came up with their data but they had a list of savings next to the item disconected from the wall. IMO most of it was not worth it in the long run. For example a microwave oven could save $3 a month if you unpluged it every time you used it. $3 to run the digital clock on the face. In the long run it "could" save money but not enough for me to both bending over and pulling the plug.

Why use a circut breaker instead of a light switch? They perform the same job. Stop the flow of energy. One is made to be turned off and on regularly. The other is made to trip when the power spikes. Plus a breaker costs 2 to 3 times more than a switch anyways if you have to replace them.

If you want to help your parents power bill buy them energy efficient electronics. If you parents are like mine they still have a 1980 microwave. I have tried to explain this concept to them for years. (These are estimates) if their microwave costs them $30 a month to run and a new model costs $10 month to run, they could go out and buy a new one for $80. After 4 months they have broken even. Every month after that they save $20. That can add up. Energy efficient electronics will save more money in the long run. Just my opinion though.

[crazyjr]

Why not just click the circut breaker in less used areas of the house?