Luxury Price Tag for Neglected Charging Cable in Wall Outlet - Leaving Charging Cable Plugged In: The Price You Pay for Convenience
Shocking Energy Drain: The Hidden Cost of Leaving Chargers Plugged In
- Scribbler extraordinaire: Danica Dash
- ⏱️ 3 Min Read
casual Standby Mode: The Silent Energy Sucker in Most Homes
TVs, receivers, and various gadgets in standby mode have a reputation for being major energy suckers, draining your wallet and the environment without much reason. That's right; we're unnecessarily burning money because of our laziness. A TV could easily drain up to 50 euros yearly in standby mode.
But wait, there's more! We often overlook the charging cables for our smartphones, tablets, and laptops that remain plugged in even after they've finished charging. We usually keep our devices near their charging stations, be it a smartphone by the bed, a laptop at the desk, or a tablet in the living room. It's just so convenient, yet it's possibly hurting our wallets and the planet.
The Unseen Cost of Idle Charging Cables
Curiosity got the best of us, so we dug a little deeper. Armed with a basic outlet power meter, we tested various charging devices with and without the devices attached. We were particularly interested in learning how much power these devices consumed while charging, in standby mode, and when the devices were fully charged.
For some light-hearted comparisons, we examined three charging devices: a universal USB-C charger from Anker, an older iPhone charging device, and one for a MacBook Air with an M1 chip.
The Shocking Truth Revealed
To our surprise, all devices showed no power consumption when no device was attached, but this isn't the whole story. These devices still consume power due to internal transformers. We'll delve into that later, as our meter isn't up to the task.
When a MacBook Air is active and connected to its power adapter, it consumes between 6 and 8 watts. However, when the battery level drops to 95%, the power adapter consumes a whopping 28 watts.
The iPhone charging cable follows a similar pattern. When charging an empty smartphone, it consumes 7 watts. The iPad, too, consumes 17 watts when charging with almost a full battery, attached to the Anker charging device. If the iPad is turned off, it charges the tablet using 7 watts at a 96% charge level. This is a common behavior to help preserve batteries.
For Mother Earth's Sake: Unplug Your Chargers
The results speak for themselves. Charging devices only consume substantial power when actively charging a device. In standby mode, their consumption is negligible. It's also logical that charging devices consume less power when fully charged devices are attached. However, leaving charging devices plugged in for convenience is not recommended.
A study by Vattenfall, a Swedish power producer, revealed that an idle mobile phone charger consumes approximately 2.5 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of power per year. With around 68 million smartphone users in Germany alone, that equates to about 170 million kWh of wasted power. And remember, this figure only accounts for mobile phone chargers.
In considering the math, we're forgetting about laptop and tablet chargers. If everyone were to remove all charging devices from the power outlet, it would save a massive 82,450 tons of carbon dioxide. But even if you don't care about the environment, it's crucial to unplug your charging devices for safety reasons.
- Charging Cable
- Power Outlet
- Green Energy
- Tablet for Seniors
- iPhone
- Charger
- iPad
- MacBook Air
- Insight: Unused charging cables contribute to the concept of "phantom power" or "standby power" consumption, which refers to energy usage when devices are left plugged in and not actively being used. While it's difficult to pinpoint exact figures for tablet and laptop chargers, it's reasonable to assume that their unused charging cables would also consume some power, albeit potentially more than smartphone chargers due to their larger power needs. Overall, the precise annual power consumption for unused charging cables will depend on the device type and charger efficiency, but even small amounts can accumulate and result in significant energy bills and environmental impact.
- The Commission's proposal for a directive on the labelling of foodstuffs also highlights the need for awareness about the energy consumption of household appliances, including gadgets like smartphones and tablets.
- In the home-and-garden industry, smart home technology is increasingly being integrated to create energy-efficient living spaces. One such feature, smart charging for devices, aims to reduce the amount of energy wasted by idle charging cables.
- The finance industry has started considering the impact of energy consumption on businesses, with some companies now evaluating the energy efficiency of a product before investment. This trend could potentially extend to the purchase of gadgets like smartphones and tablets, promoting responsible energy use.
- Lifestyle choices can also play a role in reducing energy waste. For instance, using energy-efficient gadgets, powering down devices when not in use, and unplugging charging cables when they are not actively charging can collectively make a significant difference in energy consumption and financial savings.
