ok i have a cell phone charger that i always leave plugged in to the wall and my dad always says to take it off becuase it will use electricity but i always tell him hes wrong becuase it doesnt use electricity until i actually plug the phone but then he says no it does use it becuase it is ready and there is energy flowing through it even though its not connected to a device. im pretty sure im right but i just want to comfirm it so if you can tell me for sure that would be great. thanks alot.
=)
2007-08-28 11:22:17 · 9 answers · asked by Farid S. 2 in Consumer Electronics ➔ Other - Electronics
sorry, he is correct. Although it is a charger, it does still pull electricity. Not much, but some.
Anytime you stick anything in an electrical socket, it will conduct electricity...even if the charge is going nowhere.
2007-08-28 11:29:14 · answer #1 · answered by simmychick 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Sorry, your dad's right. It isn't using lots of electricity, but it is using some.
The wall socket is AC and the charger converts it to DC (like a battery). The part that connects to the AC is always connected when it's plugged in, so it's always using power when it's plugged in. It uses more power when the cell phone is attached and it converts the AC to the DC.
If your charger uses 10 W (1/10th of a light bulb) whether or not it's charging, then in a month it will use 7.2 kWH. That's probably more than $1 worth of electricity, per month. Worse, it usually requires generating 2 kW for every kW used at a house, due to losses in transmission from the generating plant to the house. So, 14.4 kWH are being generated and wasted by you every month for nothing -- and that pollution is in the air because of you not feeling like you should unplug your charger.
Time to grow up and get green (and save money, too)!
2007-08-29 11:32:37 · answer #2 · answered by sd_ducksoup 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't know this for sure, but I think he's right. When you plug in just about anything, a connection is made. Very little energy is being used though until you acctually use what is being plugged in.
2007-08-28 11:32:05 · answer #3 · answered by Love Zelda0 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
As long as it's switched on at the wall it is using power because the plug end is a transformer and it's still running even if the phone is not attached to it.
Sorry - your dad is right.
2007-08-28 11:29:10 · answer #4 · answered by Debi 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
hey man you are right man cause the current has nothing to go to it is not useing up electricity ok man i will put it to you like this man if you keep the charger pluged in for lets say 5 hours and then take it out and then plug the phone to it that charger will not beable to charge the phone as you see the charger can not hold the energy so it just dose not go in to it
2007-08-28 11:33:40 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 3⤋
Listen to your Dad;-} he's been around longer than you.
Feel the wall-wart, it's warm, that means it consumes energy.
Current is flowing in the primary coil all the time.
2007-08-28 11:30:32 · answer #6 · answered by Robert S 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well it must use SOME electricity, especially if it has a little red light on it, but its definitely not much, seems like your father might be a jew.
2007-08-28 11:28:56 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
If it feels warm, then it uses juice. If it does not feel warm, then it may still be using juice, but not enough to be noticeable on your electric bill.
2007-08-28 14:24:28 · answer #8 · answered by Alice Lockwood 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well you are right, if its not pluged in it dosent use any electricty at all. It just sits there. therefore not being used up at all, until you plug your phone in of corse.
2007-08-28 11:29:31 · answer #9 · answered by steveo_52000 1 · 0⤊ 3⤋