Our shared household is very concious about not wasting electricty, and recycling etc. From studying Physics up to A Level I'm pretty sure that when a kettle or tv etc is NOT on itself (eg the 'boil' switch or 'on' button is not pressed, but the plug is in the socket with the socket switch on, there is no electricity being used as the circuit for 'boiling the water' or 'switch the tv on' is not completed.
Could somebody please confirm if leaving the main switches at the plugs on uses or does not use/waste electricity?
2006-11-06 21:21:14 · 14 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Other - Science
Most appliances use no electricity when they are off. The exception being TVs and computers, they use a small amount of power to stay warm for quick start up. If you want to see for yourself, go outside and look at your electric meter. You will see something moving, usually a dial. Then turn all the breakers off at your circuit breakers panel. The dial will stop, meaning you are using no power. Then unplug everything on your kitchen circuit except your kettle. Turn it on and off and check the meter, if the dial is moving, you're using power. If it's not moving, you're not. For sure. You can check everything in your house with this method.
2006-11-09 11:44:56 · answer #1 · answered by gone 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Kettle Plug
2016-11-05 05:53:04 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
A kettle only uses electricity when it's switched on. It's much safer to switch it off at the wall. That means the kettle can't be switched on accidentally and you won't get water in the live connectors if you fill it clumsily.
Some other appliances do use electricity even though they are in "standy by" mode. As a general rule, if there's a light on it's using electricity - and probably a lot more than for the indicator lamp.
2006-11-06 21:27:06 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
You are using just a bit more, hardly worth bothering about but the extra length of flex to the switch in the kettle has a very high, but not infinite resistance between the wires. You could have a few milliwatts of power being dissipated in the insulation and there will be a tiny capacitive coupling effect that will most likely (waves hands around ) not dissipate more than a few microwatts.
2006-11-06 21:28:52 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Hi - I don't think it does use electricity unless it has some kind of stand by light ( same as TV). Unless kettle is actually boiling no electricity is running through it's system.
We should all be aware of not wasting energy in our own homes.
2006-11-06 21:27:07 · answer #5 · answered by Sarah A 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Just to throw a spanner in the works....
Ten or so years ago my house got struck by lightning. Everything that was plugged into the mains got blown and had to go out for repair.
So you might want to consider unplugging things if there's a thunder storm.
On the other hand, a few days after we got struck by lightning, the house was burgled and all they got away with was my camera, because all the electricals were away being repaired! The thief must have been so confused to see all the remotes for expensive looking kit.... but no kit! LOL
So you might want to keep everything plugged in!
2006-11-08 09:12:58 · answer #6 · answered by amancalledchuda 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
The kettle and the TV are different. When the kettle is off, i.e. not heating up, it uses no current. (If it has a pilot light to show that power is 'available' it will use a very small amount while it is not heating.)
TVs, DVD and video players etc have a standby mode. They use a small current in standby mode. If they are switched off completely, and not allowed to go to standby mode they use no current - BUT they are likely to break down quite soon. They need to be in standby for their reliability - it is false economy to switch them off completely.
2006-11-06 21:46:48 · answer #7 · answered by Catie P 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, the cabling and the Kettle will consume a minimal amount of electricity if you leave them plugged in.
2006-11-06 21:33:15 · answer #8 · answered by Mickey 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I always turn mine off at the socket too as I have LED lights on my switches. Yes I know I'm being tight by turning them off but it's still electric burning away there.
2006-11-06 21:26:38 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
You could get an extremely low leakage current. But unplugging it every time is a bad choice. You risk shock and cause wear on the outlet, plug, and cord. One extra repair costs hundreds of times as much energy as you would save. Worse still if that cord you wore out by unplugging burned your house down.
2006-11-07 18:12:32 · answer #10 · answered by Frank N 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋