Do you leave your small appliances plugged in 24/7?

Ron-P

My neighbor had her kitchen burn up due to a toaster that was left plugged in. The fire department told her to always unplug small appliances (toaster, blender, coffee maker...etc) when not in use. So, what do you do?

Myself, all are unplugged when not in use.

tugboat

All my appliances are plugged into a strip hiding up under the cabinets. When I'm not using any of them, I turn off the strip. Of course if an appliance can short out, so could the strip. I just did a count and I have 40 items around the house plugged in all the time (even when not in use). I guess when you plug anything in an outlet, you take your chances.

The worst I've run across are the transformers for the 15 minute rechargable batteries. Mine stated running hotter than usual and my brother's caught fire. I know only plug that one in when I need to recharge batteries. I also had a battery charger for my Sears drill and one day I went to charge the battery and the light didn't come on. I picked up the unit and the bottom of it had melted from an internal short some time in the past. Glad it didn't catch fire!

tcrossma

For small appliances I leave my toaster oven always plugged in. That's the only small appliance that I have in my kitchen at all times. Blender, food processor, etc I bring out when needed.

MillerLiteScott

I have been trying to make a conscious effort to unplug everything that I use when not in use. Mostly cell phone charger, laptop (overnight), and my secondary stereo rigs. I am endlessly turning lights off that my girls leave on. I have found that my wife is not as vigilant as I am about this also found out she gets pissed if I unplug her cell phone charger, or turn off the printer that she uses to print a few pages a week that is usually on 24/7

I am going to go look for more stuff to unplug:D.

Scott

billbillw

Where does it stop? Unplug your TVs? Unplug your lamps? I do know a friend who is so obsessive/compulsive that he can't leave the house with out doing this. He sought treatment.

My coffee maker has a timer on it. I'm not re-setting the time each day.

Its crazy nonsense if you ask me. I leave everything plugged in. I would spend many hours each day unplugging and plugging in stuff. RE-setting time on stuff each time. Its crazy.

Kitchen alone: Refrigerator, dishwasher, stove, microwave, toaster, mixer, laptop charger.

Dining room: Shredder, computer, lamp, printer, print server, router, modem, monitor, amp, head amp, dac, scanner, china cabinet light.

Serendipity

Nonsense? I unplugged my entire HT rig when not in use and cut my electric bill in half! It turned out that the HTPC and sub were drawing over 100 watts idle, yikes!

Although I admit, the sub was set to "Always On" and the PC had power management disabled because Windows would constantly freeze up...

Ricardo

billbillw wrote: »

where does it stop? Unplug your tvs? Unplug your lamps? I do know a friend who is so obsessive/compulsive that he can't leave the house with out doing this. He sought treatment.

My coffee maker has a timer on it. I'm not re-setting the time each day.

Its crazy nonsense if you ask me. I leave everything plugged in. I would spend many hours each day unplugging and plugging in stuff. Re-setting time on stuff each time. Its crazy.

Kitchen alone: Refrigerator, dishwasher, stove, microwave, toaster, mixer, laptop charger.

Dining room: Shredder, computer, lamp, printer, print server, router, modem, monitor, amp, head amp, dac, scanner, china cabinet light.

+ 1,000,000,000

disneyjoe7

Small appliances are unplugged usually such as toaster, blender, stuff we don't use daily. The microwave is built in, the coffee maker is usually plugged in as this is setup for am coffee so plug in turn on thing maybe to much in the morning.

Serendipity

Ricardo wrote: »

+ 1,000,000,000

I still don't get it.

If you can save $50 or so a month on your electric bill by just unplugging appliances, why not? Here in NY electricity is WAY too expensive.

Some amps draw a ton of power idle, PC's can be 70-80 watts idle, even my cable box draws 15 watts standby.

Face

How could someone save $50 a month from unplugging everything? I leave everything plugged in, including 2 large battery backups, and my bill averages only $85-95 a month.

Serendipity

Face wrote: »

How could someone save $50 a month from unplugging everything? I leave everything plugged in, including 2 large battery backups, and my bill averages only $85-95 a month.

That's really low, are you with Con Ed?

Also do you leave your PC on all the time? Amps set to ON or standby?

Face

No, LIPA.

PC is on whenever I'm awake, sleep mode when I'm sleeping or out. Here's my PSU: http://www.pcpower.com/power-supply/silencer-750-quad-crossfire.html

Amps off only because my heat would never kick on and the other half of my house would freeze.

Serendipity

Weren't you the one telling me at Harry's that Pass Labs amps draw a few hundred watts idle? So it's definitely possible for an amp to draw a lot - and some amps (like the Adcom GFA-555) don't have a standby mode.

And according to my UPS, my PC's draw was 1.1A idle. That's equivalent to leaving a 100W light bulb on 24/7!

Mike682

Face wrote: »

How could someone save $50 a month from unplugging everything? I leave everything plugged in, including 2 large battery backups, and my bill averages only $85-95 a month.

I also leave everything plugged in and my bill is about the same as yours

billbillw

appadv wrote: »

I still don't get it.

If you can save $50 or so a month on your electric bill by just unplugging appliances, why not? Here in NY electricity is WAY too expensive.

Some amps draw a ton of power idle, PC's can be 70-80 watts idle, even my cable box draws 15 watts standby.

My electric bill in the non-summer months is only about $60-$80. There is no way I'm going to cut it by $50. Most of these small appliances (things without clocks or timers) have zero electrical draw when not in use. If its not warm, its not drawing much power. The other ones, with clocks and such, draw only a watt or two.

You can't compare a power hungry HTPC with a toaster or coffee maker.

I was told by SVS that my PC+ sub drew the same amount of power whether it was in 'sleep' mode or on with no signal, so there is no reason to worry about whether its on or in standby. This may not be the same for a sub with a class A/B amp, but regardless, I'm not reaching behind to unplug my sub every day.

My DVR has to be on all the time, or it won't record shows. My TV uses less than a 2 watts in standby, same with my receiver. I can look at my meter when the hvac is off and every thing is idle (no lights, no fridge) and there is hardly any movement.

Yes, Class A/B amps do draw power when they are idle, but not when they are powered off. I am not a believer of leaving your full AV system, or hifi system on 24/7 so that is is always fully warmed up. That is wasteful and it shortens the life.

Serendipity

I see...

The plate amp on my sub still gets hot when there is no signal, so I know it's wasting electricity.

billbillw

appadv wrote: »

Weren't you the one telling me at Harry's that Pass Labs amps draw a few hundred watts idle? So it's definitely possible for an amp to draw a lot - and some amps (like the Adcom GFA-555) don't have a standby mode.

And according to my UPS, my PC's draw was 1.1A idle. That's equivalent to leaving a 100W light bulb on 24/7!

Your are confusing "idle" with standby (or off).

An idle amp is one that has no input signal being fed. Its powered on, but not making any sound.

You are probably thinking about Pass's class A amps. Those draw more power at idle than they do at full volume. Class A/B amps like the Adcoms are not like that. They draw the least power at idle. Most if not all amps have an off switch. Standby only applies to things with remote power triggers. They are essentially off while in standby. An Adcom 555 turned off wouldn't draw any power at all. Zero!

Computers draw power, whether you are gaming or just showing a blank screen. 100-200 watts is normal. That's why windows (and most OS) have power management features that put the computer to sleep when not in use. In sleep mode, most PCs will only draw 2-3 watts.

It is wasteful to have a PC running idle. If you are going to do that, you might as well run Folding@Home or some type of distributed computing program to make use of those wasted computer cycles.

My PC goes to sleep if unused for 30 minutes.

Beekyman

Hair dryers, curling irons, steam irons, waffle irons, hot plates, and space heaters are always unplugged when not in use. Everything else is plugged in! Got better things to do...

billbillw

appadv wrote: »

I see...

The plate amp on my sub still gets hot when there is no signal, so I know it's wasting electricity.

You probably have an A/B amp in there. The digital (BASH) amps don't really get warm. My SVS is barely above the 68 room temperature.

Serendipity

billbillw wrote: »

Your are confusing "idle" with standby (or off).

An idle amp is one that has no input signal being fed. Its powered on, but not making any sound.

You are probably thinking about Pass's class A amps. Those draw more power at idle than they do at full volume. Class A/B amps like the Adcoms are not like that. They draw the least power at idle. Most if not all amps have an off switch. Standby only applies to things with remote power triggers. They are essentially off while in standby. An Adcom 555 turned off wouldn't draw any power at all. Zero!

Computers draw power, whether you are gaming or just showing a blank screen. 100-200 watts is normal. That's why windows (and most OS) have power management features that put the computer to sleep when not in use. In sleep mode, most PCs will only draw 2-3 watts.

It is wasteful to have a PC running idle. If you are going to do that, you might as well run Folding@Home or some type of distributed computing program to make use of those wasted computer cycles.

My PC goes to sleep if unused for 30 minutes.

You're right...I was confusing idle with standby.

Ron-P

My electric bill dropped by almost 25% by switching all the light bulbs in my house to Fluorescents. The new bulbs don't have that green tint the older ones use to and now with the "instant on" feature and smaller bulbs it's great and saves a ton of money.

WilliamM2

We leave ours all plugged in, half our appliances have clocks or timers.

As far as saving electricity, our average electric bill is about $90 in the summer, with the air running all the time to keep the house at a cool 67 degrees. In the winter it goes up to about $110. I assume that's due to all the extra light usage, and the gas heater's electric blower motor.

In the spring, when not using heat or air, the lowest bill was $75, so how much do you really think you are saving by unplugging your subwoofer? Maybe 25 cents?

billbillw

WilliamM2 wrote: »

As far as saving electricity, our average electric bill is about $90 in the summer, with the air running all the time to keep the house at a cool 67 degrees.

You must not live in the south! My bill soars to $180+ in the summer, and that is to keep the AC at a not-so-cool 76-78 degrees!

FA - Q

Beekyman wrote: »

Hair dryers, curling irons, steam irons, waffle irons, hot plates, and space heaters are always unplugged when not in use. Everything else is plugged in!

-thats how i was 'trained' whilst growing up

-now, after lightning hit and destroyed our spare car [scary man]...i unplug the amps too

-dont wish a fire on anyone

joeparaski

Hmmm....I've been paying $175 a month in electricity, that is the calculated average for the year. It has now gone up to $195 a month.

Small appliances are plugged in when used, then they are stored away. Everything else is left plugged in, but not necessarily on.

Joe

zingo

Toaster is only plugged in when used. Everything else stays plugged in.

WilliamM2

billbillw wrote: »

You must not live in the south! My bill soars to $180+ in the summer, and that is to keep the AC at a not-so-cool 76-78 degrees!

It's in the low to mid 80's here most the summer, maybe 5 or 6 days over 90F. I used to pay more, but since I upgraded the attic insulation to R-50, it has really paid off. It's dropped the gas bill an average of 25% in the winter too.

nadams

My adcom GFA-535 idles at 19 watts, I cranked it with some Breaking Benjamin and saw a peak of 130watts. This is driving my SDA2's, which should pretty much exhaust the power output of the amp, and therefore the draw as well. That said, I always turn the amp off when I'm not using it. I've never felt that solid state amps need to "warm up" before being driven hard (with the exception of car stuff in the winter).

Everything stays plugged in as long as it's not inconvenient to do so. Modern switching power supplies do not draw vampire current. Those wallwarts will, though... good thing I don't have any!

nadams

WilliamM2 wrote: »

It's in the low to mid 80's here most the summer, maybe 5 or 6 days over 90F. I used to pay more, but since I upgraded the attic insulation to R-50, it has really paid off. It's dropped the gas bill an average of 25% in the winter too.

R-50?! To do R-50 in my attic would likely fill it to the peak of the roof! What's the depth on that insulation. I just finished putting r-13 batts in my attic, where there was none. Now I'm worried I won't see any benefit

disneyjoe7

billbillw wrote: »

You must not live in the south! My bill soars to $180+ in the summer, and that is to keep the AC at a not-so-cool 76-78 degrees!

Or the really south and hot area... My bill $350 summer 80 during day 79 at 5pm 78 at 11pm to 7am!

danger boy

I don't use many small appliances.. really only one.. a toaster oven.. it does toast, also bakes and warms. i do have a microwave. but I don't consider that a small appliance, since it's huge.

i leave the toaster oven plugged in all the time.

I have several other small appliances that I don't use but maybe once a week or less.. and those are stored and only plugged in when needed. otherwise they stay in their cubby hole.

Even slicing and dicing veggies I still prefer to do with a knife over a food processor. I use the food process only rarely. The blender gets a good work out with mixing drinks though.