Is this a waste of energy?

Question

My husband is driving me crazy by always getting mad at me if I leave a standing fan in our bedroom plugged it. I always turn it off, but usually don't take the time to bend over and unplug it. He says that we are wasting energy by leaving it plugged in. Is this true? I really can't imagine how this fan would dramatically affect our electric bill. We have lots of other appliances around the house (lamps, computers, etc.) that we do not unplug after each use. What's the deal?

Answer 1

Well, Generally most a appliances use their max energy when they are on, but some electrical appliances such as microwaves and ranges use minimal energy when their off, due to the fact of their time displays. These however, only use about 5 watts when off. So in your case your husband is arguing over a measily nickle or dime a day. Here is a good website that you can use to save some energy..

http://michaelbluejay.com/electricity/howmuch.html

Answer 2

The fan is probably not wasting much energy by being plugged in, but many appliances do waste energy when they're turned off but plugged in. It's a good idea to unplug it, but that alone won't have much effect on your energy bill.
You can purchase items like the Kill-A-Watt (see link) that will measure how much energy something uses when it's plugged in, turned on, turned off, etc. Very useful for these kind of debates.

Answer 3

I think he is wrong... There are better ways to save energy (and money!) than unplugging appliances... get fluorescents bulbs instead regular ones and you won't believe how much you will save!. Also change the AC filters (make sure they are good quality and that they fit correctly).

There are plenty of other things you can do. Here are some environmental friendly ideas from greenpeace:

http://www.greenpeace.org/international/campaigns/climate-change/take_action/your-energy

*Edit*
Hey! that "Kill a Watt" seems like a pretty good idea!, but I wonder if the savings that it will provide justify the $22 + shipping it costs.

Answer 4

The ONLY way the fan would still use energy while it is turned off is if it has digital controls that stay on all the time, like a microwave oven has a clock on it. Or if it has some kind of memory chip inside it to keep presets in memory like a car radio. If it is just a fan with a regular turn knob or the kind with three speed buttons, then there is no way.

Answer 5

Hubby needs to chill out~sounds like there is more going on than just the fan, and he's just looking for an excuse to jump you. If that fan is turned off~it isn't drawing any energy! Some things, like your t.v., computer, etc...will draw a small amount of energy even when they are turned off, but not a fan. Tell him to work some overtime if he's THAT worried about the electric bill!LOL
Best of Luck to You!!

Answer 6

Most electronic devices these days have what's called "standby" mode. It is very likely that your fan, even when its not on, is drawing some power from the outlet it is plugged into. Your TV, VCR, DVD player, cell phone charger and computer are also doing this. In ayear, you save a lot of electricity (and money) unplugging things while they are not in use.

Answer 7

If you recorded how much electricity that fan used you would see that it is a mute point. You can run a normal fan all year for under $10.

Point two is if the fan is off it is not using electricity unless it has digital controls.

Answer 8

I used a watt meter to diploma the quantity of ability that issues use and that i can declare this is actual genuine that some issues use ability whilst they are grew to become off. no longer all chargers draw ability if no longer something is on them, it sort of feels that those with a heavy plug this is a converter of a few sort used ability collectively as a great form of the gentle weight ones like for a cellular telephone did no longer use ability if the telephone wasn't related. all the ipod docking stations used as lots ability to play track as they did whilst the ipod grew to become into bumped off. Even the exhibit saver grew to become right into a ability waster, my laptop used very pretty much two times as lots ability to run the exhibit saver than to surf the internet, so I switched my exhibit saver to a black exhibit. I surely have my television, vcr, stereo and game equipment plugged right into a ability strip with a swap whilst i'm no longer utilising them I end the standby ability utilization with the turn of a swap. I seem to save a minimum of $25 a month by utilising unplugging issues.

Answer 9

Anything plugged into an outlet is going to draw a certain amount of energy. Try unplugging everything you can reach for two weeks straight and see how much lower your energy bills will be. It is a bit annoying, but it does save some energy and some money to boot.

Answer 10

Not unless the fan has digital controls. There was just an insert in our electric bill about energy usage draws on electronics that are turned off. Anything that has a digital display or thermostatically controlled or at the ready appliances with standby mode (i.e.answering machines), continue to draw energy to power the digital display, including microwaves, coffee makers, computers, televisions, wall and free standing ovens, cable boxes, answering machines, etc. According to our utility provider, electric appliances with no digital displays generally do not continue to draw power when turned off. Electric fans, ceiling, freestanding, window fans or lamps, ceiling lights, were on their list of items that do not continue drawing power when turned off, except if they have digital temperature controls. In our area, it only costs 1 1/2 cents per kilowatt hour to operate a fan. Check your utility provider's website, they may have a useage calculator like ours does.