If I turn off my power strip, does this still save energy?

Question

or should I unplug the whole thing?

Also, does everything still use power when its off?

Answer 1

I am always amazed at the people who say using power strips or "kill-a-watts" are "silly." We drive around town trying to save a penny on a gallon of gas, but don't think twice or care that we're spending actual DOLLARS a year on wasted energy.

YES, many of our devices have a "phantom load" as one person noted above. YES, you can get a power strip to put on your devices - TVs, VCRs, DVDs, audio, computers, fax, printers, scanners, etc. - that will shut them entirely off. Just be sure you are getting the correct strip that is entirely off and has no standby power loss. Also, unplug cell phone, PDA, and laptop battery chargers when not in use as well.

What if we took ALL of our standby losses (phantom loads) in one city like NYC and added them up? Now what about the entire STATE? What about the country? and so on . . .

Energy produced from fossil fuels is a finite resource - meaning it WILL run out. Probably not in our lifetime, but what about our children's or grandchildren's? Don't be "silly" - just turn the strip off, you've got nothing to loose except pennies off of your electric bill - which could add up to a lot of energy if we all did it. Perhaps less brown outs? Less new coal burning power plants being built? I'll put a good link to phantom power in the sources area!

Answer 2

Yes, depends, and yes.

The power used by things when they are turned off is often called a "phantom load." Most appliances have these, especially anything that uses a remote (TV, stereo) and things that have clocks (ovens, microwaves), or other 'ready on' items. In fact, some GFI outlets even use 12W 24 hours a day.

One great example of the effect of "phantom loads" is TV. If you use a television set 4 hours a day, it uses more power in the 20 hours it is off than the 4 hours that it is on.

So yes, turning off your power strip can significantly reduce your energy usage because it shuts off all the phantom loads. Turning the strip off does the same as unplugging all the items plugged into the strip.

As for unplugging the strip, that depends. Some of them physically cut the power the same as unplugging it, but if it has an LED that is on even if it is turned off, the strip is still using power. So yes, in some cases the strip should just be turned off, but it isn't as significant a difference as the appliances plugged into it. So just turning it off in most cases will make all the difference, while taking the time to unplug it probably isn't necessary.

Answer 3

The effort it would take to turn off the power strip would typically not warrant the chore. This is being said with the assumption that nothing is being used at the time you are turning off the switch. If current drawing items such as an alarm clock, a laptop or a cell phone charger are attached and drawing power, there would of course be a minimal cost savings. Still not enough in my mind to warrant the effort. Besides, the phone and laptop would still need to be charged elsewhere eventually. The power strip itself uses little or no power based on its' characteristics. The only time that I would unplug the entire power strip is during a storm containing lightning.

Answer 4

It saves energy if the strip is lighted or any devices plugged into it draw current when they are also shut down. The amount is negligible. You will most likely see no savings on your energy bill.
I opt to leave my pc and monitor running all the time. They go into hibernate mode after timing out. Doing so allows the circuits to stay charged as need be and eliminates the power surges experienced when first turned on. It is the surges that strain a system most.
If you live in an area that experiences brown-outs or regular black-outs it would be best to turn everything off when not in use. Also, try to develop the habit of automatically reaching to turn off your system when a black-out occurs. Power is seldom restored after such an event in a stable enough way to be good for your system.
33yrs. electronics technician

Answer 5

Turning off the power strip should totally cut off all power. I don't think power strips have any standby mode.

But honestly, all this worry about standby power is silly. It uses very little energy. All day of standby power probably uses less energy than one minute of central air conditioning or 5 minutes of refrigerator operation. If you want to save large amounts of power, set the air conditioning thermostat one degree higher. If you REALLY want to save energy, never use air conditioning; just open all the windows and tough out those summer days like the pioneers. Or maybe use a fan. Fans uses about 10 times less power than air conditioners.

Not everything uses power when it is off. A TV does but a toaster does not. A refrigerator does but a washing machine does not. At least my toaster and washing machine do not.

Answer 6

BASEL or Basic Electronics as the military and Army call it, says that if the circuit is open (i.e the switch is turned off, that is what is called and "open" in electronics terms), no power flows to the circuit which is like a circle of alternating current with a break in it.

Picture it also like the opposite. A closed circuit, or loop/circle of current, does not have a break in it so therefore the switch is called closed- this is in the "on" position. In an electronics schematic or diagram a switch would look sort of like a -k-shaped node that is drawn in open and closed scenarios.
So anyway this is why my girlfriends yell and gets upset when I complain that I have to move a big heavy tv hutch with a primitive old big screen (not flat) to replug in the plug strip to the outlet behing this behemoth....

Because I cannot convince her that turning off the little plug strip switchy thing CUTs off the power to the things plugged into it and the strip itself....sleepy, snoozy, just as cozy and well rested as if the dern thing was yanked out of the wall again..ha....oh well...she means well...

Answer 7

The best way to really know if the devices you are using draw power when they are turned on is to use a simple device called Kill-o-watt. Look it up on eBay. It's only $20 and it will show you exactly which gadgets have a "phantom load" when they are turned off. It will also tell you how much energy is used by a particular gadget. You just plug the Kill-o-watt into the wall and then plug the device you are testing into the Kill-o-watt and you'll get that exact answer you are looking for.

Answer 8

If it is still plugged in, electrical currents can still reach the strip even if it's turned off, but it would have to be on to forward power to the things plug into it. Although the usage is practically nothing, if you want it to use 0% power, the strip must be unplugged.

Answer 9

No, only certain things.

- Anything that's warm to the touch even when it's off.
- Any "wall wart" type transformer, the little square box that hangs off the power outlet. Also any "power brick" inline transformers like laptops have.

- Any consumer electronics that you can turn on with a remote... obviously some part of it is on 24x7 to monitor the signal from the remote so it knows to "turn itself on" when you signal.

To be sure, for about $30 you can measure it yourself with a "Kill-a-watt"...
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000JLOKXI/?tag=wolfharper-20

If you turn off a power strip, nothing plugged into that strip will take any power at all. It's as good as unplugging it. Just watch it, some power strips have "always on" plugs.

Answer 10

If there are things running on the power strip, then yes they will stop running and you will save money.

There are things that you "turn off", but still use electricity. For example, the VCR, the Fridge, The fax machine, etc. Only when you unplug them will they stop consuming energy.