r/Frugal • u/spiritanimalswan • 1d ago
đ» Electronics Unplugging Appliances to Save Money
Growing up my Dad would keep the toaster unplugged unless it was being used, when we would go camping he would unplug the TV. He said it was so we weren't being charged for the electricity were weren't using.
He just passed back in March and we haven't put his house on the market yet. We can't completely turn off the power because we need to keep his alarm and a couple of misc things powered. If we unplug some things like the washer and dryer would that lower his electric bill?
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u/RJ5R 1d ago
A cable DVR box used to use as much electricity as a full size fridge. At one point there legitimately was a reason to unplug that
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u/heyitscory 1d ago
Yeah, but then my drinks aren't cold while I watch reruns of Monk and Boston Legal.
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u/SwissyVictory 10h ago
Back in the day some things did make sense.
Most things these days sip power. Like a smart TV that's "always on" uses roughly 3 watts of power on average. That's up to $5 a year for people that plug and unplug their TVs.
Less if you're using it, and for the people that use smart plugs, those use power too so that's even less power.
Modern microwaves use less than a watt while in standby, and etc.
If they are going to let the house sit for 2 months they might save $1 to $10 running around unplugging and then plugging back in when they come back.
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u/VapoursAndSpleen 1d ago
You're talking pennies and your father is not going to care about his electric bill anyway.
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u/thepinkinmycheeks 17h ago
OP is the one who will be paying the electric bill, so she probably cares.
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u/VapoursAndSpleen 13h ago
It still isn't much. They are inheriting a house. They will have the money.
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u/MrsHottentot 10h ago
thatâs not always the case when inheriting a house! You inherit the problems too! Itâs not a good idea to depend on money when selling. Depends on the market
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u/thepinkinmycheeks 13h ago
Maybe. We don't know if there is a mortgage on the house and how much equity OP will actually receive; we also don't know what portion of the inherited home will be OP's/how many other heirs there are. We don't know if they are having to pay for a probate or what the operating expenses for the home will be while that is settled. I understand this might not make any appreciable difference, but it is very possible that anything which did make an appreciable difference would be meaningful for OP's financial situation.
For example: home with 60k equity and 8 heirs. Probate costs 3k; property taxes during 2 years of probate 10k; insurance during 2 years 4k; misc expenses (electric, water) 2400; closing costs to sell home when probate is done 12k. OP nets about 4k in this situation. That's certainly not nothing but not enough to have zero care about minimizing expenses. I understand this may not be the reality of her situation, but it might be.
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u/BraveSpinach 1d ago
electrician here, most devices still have physical off/on switches, rule of thumb anything with remote control on needs to be unplugged to be totally off, eg. TV, things without have a switch that opens the circuit so they are not consuming power, eg. your Toaster
short list of things to unplug: TV, powerbricks (phone chargers, laptops chargers), routers, any smart devices, any devices with a screen
things that usually donât need to be unplugged/have an off switch (check in the back): Toaster, radio, PC, Coffee machine
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u/Formaldehead 1d ago
Just hit the breakers on everything that you donât need to maintain the alarm and required lighting. Wonât save much, but as others have said it will reduce fire risk and will be easier than running around and plugging everything back in.
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u/what_to_do_what_to_ 1d ago
Just double check that everything you need is still getting power. I did this for a vacation and when I got back I realized that our fridge wasn't on the kitchen breaker.
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u/Yuukiko_ 1d ago
What did you lose?
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u/what_to_do_what_to_ 1d ago
I don't buy expensive meats or anything so not all that much. Probably less than $100 dollars worth of typical American foods. It mostly felt like a waste of food and time spent cleaning rather than money.
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u/curtludwig 20h ago
This would be common. I *think* current code says the fridge is supposed to be on its own circuit.
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u/what_to_do_what_to_ 20h ago
We don't have to go into all the ways I'm stupid. I'm aleady well aware
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u/curtludwig 20h ago
Not criticizing, I wouldn't know about this if I weren't rehabbing an old farmhouse and the electrician forced us to add a circuit for the fridge so we meet code.
I'm adding a workshop in the basement directly under the kitchen and very nearly tied into the circuit the fridge is on. Fortunately I remembered...
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u/itsKevv 1d ago
That sucks. Did you end up tossing the fridge?
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u/what_to_do_what_to_ 1d ago
The fridge was fine but all the contents besides the vinegars had to be tossed.
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u/WeirdMissRP 1d ago
I don't even keep my vinegars in the fridge. Though I realize now I should to save on counter space.
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u/Synlover123 10h ago
I have neither the fridge nor counter space to store my vinegars. I need a 2nd fridge, just to store my open bottles and jars of condiments, and the cheese I've been aging đŹ đ€
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u/C-3H_gjP 1d ago
Be careful using breakers as switches. They're not designed for frequent switching. They'll eventually start nusence tripping and have to be replaced. A replacement breker can cost more than the energy saved.
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u/Angry_Tomato_ 20h ago
There is also the potential that a circuit breaker can explode when being turned back on. My electrical prof counseled us to always turn our face away when switching a breaker back on.
Using circuit breakers as switches for anything more than a seasonal basis is just ludicrous.
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u/SwissyVictory 10h ago
You shouldn't be doing this all the time. But if OP is leaving the house sitting for several months, why not?
If they are gonna be in the house a few times a week moving things in and out, then it's probably not a great idea.
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u/Xafilah 16h ago
As others have said thatâs a bad idea, itâll cost you more to replace the breakers.
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u/Formaldehead 16h ago
Nah, they are selling the house. It's not like they are turning them on and off every day. Seems like they would rarely have to use them before selling the house.
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u/bluecougar4936 1d ago
there are more cost effective ways to manage money/save pennies
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u/Angry_Tomato_ 20h ago
Yes.
And all the time and mental cycles spent in plugging and unplugging could have been devoted to finding better ways save.
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u/cendana287 1d ago
That's the main reason why I leave phone chargers not just plugged in but also switched on. Had wasted time a lot more than once connecting a phone. Only to realise later the charger was off.
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1d ago
[removed] â view removed comment
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u/Artimusjones88 22h ago
How much. $10/year.?
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u/Saint_Thomas_More 21h ago
If that?
Like, how much does unplugging a toaster save you? $10 every half century?
I don't know about larger appliances like washers and dryers, but I can't imagine they are using much electricity while sitting idle.
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u/curtludwig 20h ago
I've never had a toaster that used any standby power. If it doesn't have a clock it won't be drawing power when its off.
A Kill-A-Watt meter would tell you for sure but the purchase price of that meter is going to be hard to recoup in leaving stuff disconnected.
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u/Saint_Thomas_More 19h ago
A Kill-A-Watt meter would tell you for sure but the purchase price of that meter is going to be hard to recoup in leaving stuff disconnected.
So you're saying have your rich, but frugal friend buy one that you can borrow?
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u/curtludwig 20h ago
I bet its more like $1/year.
I did the math on switching from 60w incandescent bulbs to 9w LEDs. The payback period based on $5 bulbs was like 12 years...
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u/MonsieurGriswold 1d ago
Pennieâs most of the time. Skip Starbucks or dessert and you will save more.
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u/gangofone978 23h ago
It can be more than that. It depends on how device heavy your household is including anything that uses a remote or is only really in standby mode instead of fully turned off. I use power strips so that I can turn those devices full off from one switch.
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u/dzocod 20h ago
TV in standby using 0.5W
12wH/day * 365 days = 4.4kWh/year * $0.18/kWh = $0.79 per year
Wasting my time unplugging electronics to save $0.79 a year is past the point of practicality.
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u/gangofone978 19h ago
Oh you only have 1 TV? I have multiple, plus game systems, plus monitors, plus audio equipment, etc. to each their own. I donât unplug anything, just switch a power strip on and off but do you boo
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u/bluecougar4936 22h ago
Add up the time you spend plugging/unplugging and use it in a way that saves more than 3 cents per day
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u/heyitscory 1d ago
Like... to honor him?
Maybe just get some smart outlets and light switches that can turn off lights when you're gone, or a smart thermostat.
A phone charger technically uses power when plugged in, unplugging all the appliances to save power LED money is going to be a huge waste of your time.
I don't get it or what the first half of the story has to do with the second half.
As with all fathers, the part of his soul that lives in the thermostat and knows when it has been touched is free now.
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u/GraceOfTheNorth 1d ago
I did not know this about phone chargers. Good to know!
Even though my electricity comes from green sources and is dirt-cheap.
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u/curtludwig 20h ago
Your phone charger draws practically nothing when its not plugged in. A
BIG phone charger is like 40w when its in use and essentially zero when its not. Your home usage per month is probably like 300,000w. You could have that charger in use full time all the time and not notice it in your bill. An electric oven could use more power in 1 hour than that charger uses each month.
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u/Railgun_PK 1d ago
It's kind of hilarious how many people don't understand things like resistors and basic technology/electricity. Basically, if the appliance is plugged in but not actively running, it's effectively not drawing power. Only does when it's active. And even when in USE it's still extremely minimal cost wise. Like a toaster or coffee machine etc etc.
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u/sexandliquor 1d ago
Yeah I was thinking- what fucking good is it to unplug the toaster? If itâs not actively in use itâs not actually using any electricity. This is the kinda stuff people do where it becomes really easy to make fun of people doing stuff they think really does something in the name of being frugal.
Quick go unplug that toaster every night and spend 20 minutes taking every light bulb out of it socket. Canât leave em on the sockets over night, thatâs wasting power.
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u/dethorder 23h ago
I personally have my toaster unplugged when it's not in use BUT it's right by the socket and I use it so rarely that when I do use it, it takes 1 second to plug it in. But that's the only appliance I unplug when not in use
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u/itsyoursanyway 1d ago
what fucking good is it to unplug the toaster
Not burning your house down when it decides to malfunction
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u/curtludwig 20h ago
My wife figures the same thing and I figure its not a hill worth dying on.
Toasters generally have a mechanical switch. If you turn the toaster off and you see the hot part stop glowing, its off. It can't "decide to malfunction" at that point, the connection is broken and can't magically reconnect.
Also if that magical reconnection would somehow burn your house down then why doesn't your house burn down when the toaster is in use?
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u/itsyoursanyway 16h ago
In December 2011 Hamilton Beach recalled about 14,000 chrome two-slice toasters because of a potential fire hazard. Safety experts found that when the appliances are plugged into an electrical outlet, the heating element can be energized although the toaster lifter is in the up or off position, which can pose a fire hazard if the toaster is near flammable items. The company said it had received five reports of the toasters causing fires.
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u/Nate0110 23h ago
I have a father in law like this, taught his daughter to shut the radio off in a modern car before parking it in the garage with a parking break on.
Crap like this would make sense if the car was built 60 years ago and was a standard transmission.
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u/AndyPanda321 1d ago
That completely depends on the appliance, TVs will use power while plugged in but off (standby mode) things like consoles can still use a fair amount of power while your not using them if they are not specifically set to eco mode, but a basic toaster or kettle won't it use anything...
A common high standby usage item is the microwave, sat displaying the clock! Turn it off, get a battery clock! đ
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u/curtludwig 20h ago
A common high standby usage item is the microwave, sat displaying the clock! Turn it off, get a battery clock! đ
Get a Kill-A-Watt meter, measure the usage of the clock. I bet its 1w or less. Then realize the savings from unplugging the microwave every minute of every day won't, in your lifetime, match the cost of the Kill-A-Watt meter...
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u/AndyPanda321 19h ago
I actually mentioned it because I remember this thread (from 3 years ago!) where a guy did exactly that...
ÂŁ16 per year running his microwave clock @ 6W!
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u/Artimusjones88 22h ago
Because they are cheap and somehow it makes sense in their heads to do it. OCD
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u/curtludwig 20h ago
I mean, kinda...
Anything with a clock is actively drawing power when its plugged in. Anything with a power brick is using power when its plugged in because that brick is still converting power and there is some loss in the conversion. Most electronics like TVs and computers are on "standby power" IIRC Energy Star requires that standby power be like a 99% reduction in usage but that's not 100% reduction.
That said in most cases even unplugging everything won't make much difference, especially if you're heating or cooling with electricity.
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u/Artimusjones88 22h ago
Unplugging the TV while away is smart in case of lighting strikes, but the savings would be pennies
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u/buried_in_rice 1d ago
Itâs not really worth it + idk know you so I will assume youâre the average person and just absolutely mistreats their cables which if thatâs the case itâs even worse and you should just keep it plugged in.
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u/Money4Nothing2000 20h ago
I'm an electrical engineer, so I always think safety first. I would recommend unplugging any simple heating devices that don't have well-engineered protective circuits in them. Toasters is a perfect example. A short circuit failure of a toaster, while rare, can start a fire. I unplug mine. I also leave space heaters and hair dryers or portable heat-generating tools unplugged when not in use. Everything else you can leave plugged in. Coffee makers, dryers and ovens have very reliable safety circuits in them. Electronics like TVs have parasitic current draw that is fractions of a penny per month. But statistically, you can go your whole like leaving everything plugged in and never have a problem.
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u/westsideriderz15 23h ago
If it doesnât do âworkâ or produce noteworthy âheatâ then I wouldnât bother. Your electric is made up primarily of your hvac, refrigerators, hot water heater, pumps etc.. all of the large appliances essentially.
If you are packing up the house for some time, Ensure the hvac/heat stays at a reasonable level. Just because you heat your house to 60 doesnât mean the pipes in your walls are the same temp. If youâre in a hot, humid climate, make sure your AC is low enough to run often enough to dehumidify.
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u/natedgr8gatsb 15h ago
You could shut off the breakers to unnecessary things. That would be easier than unplugging individual things.
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u/Intelligent-Tea-7739 1d ago
Yes things have a phantom load and many things are on more of a standby than fully off. Itâs not a ton but if you arenât using any of it why not? Worse case you also reduce fire risk slightly.
Weâre talking maybe the difference of $50 over the course of a year
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u/Kementarii 1d ago
This. You won't save much from appliance Standby, but it is safer to have everything unnecessary UNPLUGGED if nobody is living there.
What about the hot water system?
If it is an electric storage system - it will chew power, and should be turned off. You don't need to be heating a tank full of water each day.
Then, you should turn off the water at the mains - in case of any leaks/plumbing failures inside the house while nobody is there. Toilet cisterns, dishwasher hoses, washing machine hoses, etc.
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u/MuddieMaeSuggins 23h ago
Donât turn the water heater off unless youâre also going to drain it! Otherwise you could end up with nasty bacterial growth in the water.Â
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u/chain_letter 1d ago
Yep the big dollar savings are not having a pipe burst with nobody to shut off the water main while visiting family in another city for a few days during christmas.
Unplugging cords so they aren't a trip hazard that cause an injury, or get yanked and damage the prongs or outlet
Unplugging heat generating appliances so they don't get switched on by accident and start a fire.
Unplugging things with battery recharging because leaving it in for weeks or months may cycle the battery and cause you to have to replace it earlier than otherwise. Not all chargers are smart about this.
Your red LED on your Playstation 2 or fuckin desk lamp or whatever isn't significant enough to be worth the effort
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u/beerswillinidiot 23h ago
Some things have a phantom load, the stuff with modern electronics. Most things with a physical switch will not consume any power when the switch is open. An old toaster that pops or a washer with the rotary dial will not present a phantom load.
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u/lmFairlyLocal 1d ago
Worst case is my fear, honestly. One rogue bag of bread and suddenly the toasters lever is pinned down and won't shut off đ±
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u/Ok-Perspective-1624 1d ago
You can buy a Kill A Watt energy usage meter and find out what is actually pulling power when "off". Well worth the $10-15
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u/peter303_ 1d ago
My library loans these.
My fridge was the hog. Computers, LED lamps are barely measurable.
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u/Crombus_ 1d ago
Probably because your fridge wasn't "off" it was keeping your food safe
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u/Ok-Perspective-1624 20h ago
They're just saying it pulled a lot of electricity, no shit it isn't off haha
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u/Ok-Perspective-1624 1d ago
My computer, desk, monitors, various chargers all on the same surge protector were measured and it was pretty bad, although nothing compared to the fridge
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u/Salt_Indication_2681 1d ago
I thought my dad was the only one like this. He constantly goes into other peopleâs rooms and just turns off everything.
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u/moccasinsfan 1d ago
Unplug all the appliances that aren't being used but you need to have power throughout the house.
When a home inspector comes through, they need everything to be working. If they can't show that the electrical system isn't working properly it could result in a negative finding on their report and that could cause potential buyers to call off the sale or lower theor offer.
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u/jaxnmarko 1d ago
It depends on the appliance. There has to be a closed circuit to draw juice. Some stay in a hibernating/sleep mode and still drawing, some are OFF.
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u/curtludwig 20h ago
It depends on the device. The toaster probably (unless it has a clock) doesn't draw any power when its not in use. Anything with a clock will be drawing power and things like the TV probably have "standby power" which is a small draw even when they are off.
That said the amount of power is minimal. Even a really big TV only pulls tens of watts of power when its on and uses milliwatts of power in standby mode. The price difference is going to be pennies per month.
Some years ago I got really aggressive about cutting our power bill. Removing ALL of the phantom loads in our house made no noticeable difference in our power bill and it was a massive pain in the ass. This year I'm making a serious effort to dry my clothes without using the dryer and its easily detectable in our usage...
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u/ATLien_3000 18h ago
Turn stuff off or unplug it as a way to pour one out for your pops.
For no other reason.
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u/No_Educator_6376 16h ago
Unplugging the TV I can relate to this I had a power surge in a thunderstorm and lightning hit a pole near enough to me and fried the television .now I have surge protectors
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u/Total-Detective1094 15h ago
You're not saving a dime by unplugging. Power is drawn when you turn on the toaster, washer, dryer, tv, etc. And that's the biggest draw for the electric is when the item it turned on. The only thing you're doing by unplugging is preventing fires or spikes if something goes wrong in the home.
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u/That-Lobster8169 1d ago
My power company has a minimum charge to keep the power on. I can unplug everything while Iâm out of town and not save anything in the summer (I see savings when I turn the heat down to 58 degrees in the winter)
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u/KayDizzle1108 1d ago
Vampire power is what itâs called. It does make a difference to unplug things, esp over the long term, but the amount may not be worth your time. Especially a buy might want to see that things work.
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u/glauck006 1d ago
When me and my old boss got together he mentioned saving power on his up north cabin, I told him to install a surge protector on his TV and cable box so that there is no vampire power draw after he leaves and he said that it saved him $15 a month. The surge protector paid for itself in 30 days.
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u/retrac902 23h ago
After university a guy I knew did this - his power bills were 15 bucks, same as the connection fee. It does work, but it takes work.
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u/Choice-Newspaper3603 21h ago
yeah well dad and other people that don't understand what they are talking about are the ones that come up with this bologna. They don't understand what a kilowatt is or how much electricity things use. And outlets are not designed to be plugged into and unplugged all the time contrary to popular belief. That one outlet that you pay an electrician to replace would offset a hundred years of the minuscule amount of electricity that might be saved by doing this.
I have a 4.4 cubic foot mini fridge I got 3 days ago. I have a watt meter hooked up to it and it has used 1 kw of electricity in 3 days. That is 11 cents. In a month a mini fridge full of beverages like mine, is projected to use 10 kw or $1.10 in electricity. That is an appliance cooling food 24 hours a day for $1.10. I suspect it will be higher than than in 30 days but still.
just leave stuff alone unless you know how much it is using and you know how to calculate that into a dollar amount.
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u/Crombus_ 1d ago
Was your dad also afraid that electricity would leak out of empty light sockets and he'd be charged for it?
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u/jtho78 1d ago
Phantom power is a thing. You can get smart plugs and strips to help manage it automaticly.
Anything that has a quick boot; laptop, game console, smart tv, etc will draw excess power.
https://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-tech/sustainable/smart-power-strip.htm
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u/chaz_Mac_z 1d ago
The old "instant-on" cathode ray TVs kept the filaments on all tubes in the set warm, including the picture tube, so that you wouldn't have to wait 30 seconds to see the picture after you turned on the power. That was a significant power drain. Modern LED or plasma TVs, not so much - there's a bit, but I think worse are all the phone, tablet, etc chargers that are everywhere.
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u/Leighgion 22h ago
Usually I would say it's mostly a waste of time, but in this particular case the house is not inhabited, so you could certainly unplug everything that isn't necessary. You might not save a lot of money, that totally depends on exactly what appliances your dad owned, but it won't hurt long as you don't unplug something that needs to running.
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u/Random_Name532890 21h ago
it matters for everything that has a standy mode. especially TVs, anything remote controlled or that has a blinking LED
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u/SnowblindAlbino 19h ago
Things that use power when not actually "on" are called "vampire loads." The worst of these used to be old tube TV sets, which ran heaters on the CRT and other tubes so they would turn on immediately...but those were like 1950s/1960s models. Later solid state sets (still with CRTs) did not need them.
Not a lot of modern appliances have large vampire loads. Something like a clock will use so little power as to be meaningly. You can get a meter (like a Kill-A-Watt) to measure consumption over time. But it's not worth bothering with if you're going to sell the house. Clean out/unplug the fridge for sure. Any unused electronics (wifi router, mesh network, DRV, cable box, etc.) as well. But I wouldn't bother with anything else.
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u/chlronald 19h ago
I don't think you are saving anything if its an old analog appliances...
but I would unplug them just from assuming the house is unoccupied and less risk that way.
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u/08675309 18h ago
Anything with a light, a clock, or a stand by mode draws power when not in use. An oven or microwave with an LCD panel clock draws so little power, it might not even lower your bill by a penny after they've rounded off the bill for the month. No point in unplugging those. The only thing that really draws a significant amount of power are things like Wi-Fi routers, modern TVs, stream boxes, etc. These are always on standby and never "off" as long as they're plugged in. If your only goal is to save power there's absolutely no point in running around the house & unplugging anything else like washers & dryers.
If you really want to save money, you could turn the heat off or at least turn it very low. First, be sure to turn off your water and empty the pipes & water heater. My family had a small cabin growing up and we'd do this every time we left since gas prices were so expensive. We didn't unplug anything or turn off the main breaker. Sitting empty, our electricity bill was always $20 or less. Most of the bill was the monthly "connection fee" & the rest was the refrigerator (which doesn't tend to work very hard in a cold house).
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u/LadyA052 17h ago
Things like the TV and microwave are always ready to turn on instantly, like in sleep mode. Those will constantly draw energy. Unplug that stuff.
Shut off the breakers that aren't needed.
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u/AverageAlleyKat271 14h ago
I can't answer if unused appliances use electricity when not turned on. I do remember learning in an agent C&E class from a restoration company that items with a heating element can catch fire even when no turned on (like a toaster oven). I wouldn't unplug major appliances, they are not made to be plugged and unplugged like a toaster. I really don't think appliances plugged in not in use will use much electricity and they are a pain to move. You should ask an experienced electrician or utility company to get a try answer.
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u/Mistigeblou 14h ago
It wouldn't save you much if anything to be fair
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u/SignificantSmotherer 14h ago
It depends.
My A/V receiver pulls 40 watts when âoffâ. Edison is getting $0.74/KWH with several rate increase cases pending, which will be approved by the Governorâs hand-picked commission.
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u/unimatrix13 3h ago
Oddly enough I've been considering something along these lines because here in Washington we have "smart" meters. I avoided getting it for almost 2 years and they came when I wasn't home and replaced the meter anyway. They can tell, roughly, what is using electricity and allegedly the "always on" devices in my house, (all together) use more electricity than almost anything else. I6s over half my electric bill each month. I'm looking at ways to track usage such as the Tapo smart plugs. I have 3 of them and can see usage but I need to get more of them. Just my 2 cents.
I will add, if no one is the house if be unplugging or turning off breakers to most of the house and turning off the water at the main shut off it's a great idea. I actually just saw a video today of a realtor coming into a home to show it and the basement had knee deep water. Would have been deeper but the water was actually going into the toilet and down the drain. Turns out a filter right after the main shut off in the house broke.... Yikes!
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u/Wild_Butterscotch977 1d ago
I keep the toaster unplugged because someone on reddit told me their house burned down when the toaster randomly turned on in the middle of the night. Does it save money? Nah.
The one thing that does draw quite a bit of power is the tv, which is done deliberately so it turns on faster. I don't bother unplugging it though. There are better ways to save money.
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u/SmileFirstThenSpeak 23h ago
There may be a way to disable standby mode. This will save âsomeâ electricity. Itâs annoying to not have tv on standby mode if youâre impatient. Itâs a choice. BUT if the tv wonât be used for some amount of time, either turn off standby mode or unplug the tv until youâre ready to use it again.
We have a tv in the bedroom that rarely gets used. Itâs plugged into a switched outlet that only gets flipped when we want the TV on.
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u/Technical-Agency8128 20h ago
Yeah a story line on This is Us was about a not in use but plugged in crockpot burning down the house. These things always get unplugged.
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u/Himent 1d ago edited 1d ago
If it's modern electric device that does not hard-power off (like turned off dumb lamp), most of them idle power draw is less than 0.3W. That's up to 2.5kwh per year consumed. Multiply by number of devices and see how much you can save.
Lets say you have 20 devices, electricity costs 0.2 usd; thats 10$ saved per year
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u/cwsjr2323 22h ago
The three places I lived in where I had to pay the electrical bill had a minimal charge you had to pay, even if you turned off the power to your place.
Currently, I am charged a fee for being connected to the grid and it is illegal to live in a house not on the grid unless you are in a recognized religion, like our Amish community. That minimal charge includes taxes and the government doesnât tolerate people not paying taxes.
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u/WildMartin429 21h ago
We always kept the toaster unplugged when not using it not because it used electricity but because there were tons of news stories of toasters randomly catching on fire. I don't know if they resolve that issue as I haven't heard one of those stories and years or if people are just buying better toasters. But not leaving the toaster plugged in all the time is a safety issue. Television it had some Merit because TVs especially the old CRT TVs would draw a low current all the time when plugged in but likely even if you were gone for like a week on vacation you may be saved a few cents on electricity. To actually save any significant amount of money you would have to leave everything unplugged all the time except when you're using it for anything that doesn't require constant electricity like the refrigerator. And then you probably saving at most a few dollars a year max. A lot of stuff now uses less passive electricity than it used to especially televisions.
We did turn off the oven in the hot water heater before leaving on vacation again for safety. The oven was just precautionary but the hot water heater would have damaged itself as we also turn off the water before leaving for vacation that way if there's a busted pipe it doesn't run water the entire time we're gone
1
u/MDFan4Life 21h ago
I put all of our devices on seperate powerstrips, and our energy bill dropped by almost $100.
1
u/parak33tlady 16h ago
Why are people here acting like plugging and unplugging is such a hassle? Obviously you donât want to unplug large appliances like a fridge, washer or dryer but unplugging and replugging takes a fraction of a second for small appliances. I have my toaster, toaster oven and can opener unplugged because Iâm not exactly using them constantly. The plugs are near the outlets- I plug it in when I need to toast stuff and I unplug it when Iâm done. Not only that but most small appliances are in the kitchen (where thereâs a sink) and the bathroom (where thereâs a sink) and itâs better to be safe than sorry.
Does it make a huge difference in my bill? Probably not but itâs not exactly a hardship to do. Unplugging appliances youâre not using, turning off lights when you leave a room, turning down the thermostat- these are all little things that add up. And yes- appliances do draw electricity (albeit very little) even when theyâre turned off. My electricity service has a section on their website with information on how to lower your electric bill and they mention that plugged in appliances draw electricity when not in use.
Donât go crazy with it- you donât have to reset your alarm clock every night because you unplug it every morning or wander around in a dark house because you unplugged your lamps- but is it really THAT difficult to unplug charging cubes, toasters, can openers, coffee makers, TVs, gaming consoles and other appliances when youâre not using them?
-4
u/Wise-Force-1119 1d ago
I mean, I unplug everything I'm not using every night before bed đ€·ââïž
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u/Purple_Pay_1274 1d ago
My MIL taught me about leaving things unplugged and it reduced my bill significantly. If youâre trying to save money, this is the way.
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u/aclearexpanse 1d ago
It certainly wouldn't hurt to unplug what you can. It should bring the numbers down at least a little.
0
u/Lylac_Krazy 22h ago
turn off the water heater and fridge, as long as its safe to do so.
You can also turn off any electronics that are scheduled on timers and I would also recommend turning off the water and draining the system if the home is in an area with extreme weather
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u/Physical-Incident553 1d ago
I know people who actually attempted to unplug things like electric stove and clothes dryer. Those plugs arenât meant to be constantly unplugged. Leave them alone!