Should you unplug your appliances?

In this video I discuss the pros and cons of unplugging your small appliances when they are not in use.

[renalshomlmes]

About time someone mentions old style items that use no electricity when not in use, however as things get "smart" they are no longer operated by ac/dumb switches. Wifi, clocks, dc motors (my new pwm blender), anything with a transformer, tvs...they do have a parasitic load and can draw more power than you think. Use a meter on these things and you will be surprised. Now if you use the item everyday, it may not pay, but infrequently used items, it absolutely makes seems to unplug if easily done.
I actually use a smart switch (it has its own parasitic draw) to turn off a whole bank of wall warts (that also helps to not leave phones plugged in too long when tossed on the charger at night). Every little bit helps.

[victorsteerup]

Your two best friends are a infrared thermometer and a "kill-a-watt" energy use meter. The first to test that appliances, their power cords, plugs and wall outlets are not getting hot, and the second to track actual energy use.

[deataol]

I have to send this video to my mom, she still unplugs everything. Lmao 😂

[foxes]

I have found that using surge protector strips work best at saving energy. Any and everything thing is plug them and turned off when the house is quiet at night or not in use.

[tutacat]

I think youre thinking of transformers. Technology has advanced. The vast vast majority is switching power supply (circuit based) so the idle current is barely any at all. Usually way less than 0.1W. For a sleeping computer it's a watt or so, especialy if network stays on. Newer TVs with fast start enabled use a bit of power to keep the memory on, just like a sleeping computer, but more power efficient because it's Arm.

[richardmccants]

That's a good idea 💡 brother thank you

[Vss]

fun fact: i heard and witnessed a wild debate about plugged in and unplugged psu (that basically every device has) it does more harm internally when unplugging them & let the capacitors discharge. leaving them on a standby makes sure they are left somewhat charged and tend to have a longer life. for me personally had friends that unplugs chargers and they break after a year or 2, tho i cant say if the capacitor die or the unplug and plug in creating stress on contact points (not to mention wearing down the outlet as u said)

for the ppl that scared of fire: u may unplug everything, since everything can fail, 99% of the devices have a "charger" inside that can in theory go bad and create fire and at that point u gonna shut down ur whole house 😂 which is not very productive when u have many smart devices & cctvs etc. imagine u get home just to boot up your whole house plugging everything back in or 2nd case: u taking care of it and in the end u realize the fridge caused the fire 😂

[threatcore]

You could just trip the main breaker on your home when you're not home. Perhaps automate it with a timer and solenoid, or the garage door opener as a home/not home signal. You'll need to wire the solenoid on the hot side of the main breaker to untrip the main when you arrive back home. My house it setup this way and my bill is cheap. If you're concerned about price, you can wire an underground extension cord from your neighbor and tell him you're trenching for ants until the grass grows back.

[airbornetortilla]

Hey Mark greetings from Alaska! We have a Oster 24 quart roasting oven I'm embarrassed to admit that it's about time to change the wiring for this house because a lot of things have been fixed on this house except the wiring. Nothing dangerous has happened with The appliance or wiring though I'm just saying the wiring is a little older. Anyway this Oster roasting oven when we're using it to to 400°. The light will stay on for a while and then it'll just kind of turn on and off I read on a forum that it's a safety you mechanism so it doesn't just stay at 400° for however long cuz this thing doesn't have a timer. But I'm not going to believe just one guy that sort of made sense on the internet. You seem like you take appliance stuff seriously. Is it safe to use my Oster 24 quart roasting oven?, (sorry I will give electrical specs after we're done cooking with it this is our first time using it and I tried calling Austin and no joke they said try looking underneath the appliance when you're not using it so I just hung up) please I hope you read your comments daily or at least every other day that would be very helpful! Happy New Year to you.

[gerardoberetta]

Great.. .. just solved a family discussion....a Whiskey to your health !

[TheBasstead]

Yes. My parents think the toaster uses power when plugged in but not in use. 😂. So they constantly unplug my toaster when they visit and I get pissed off. 😂

[rgbswwr]

Yeah true both during brawn out black out, when power get back it couse high power serge. It will blow out burned your appliances, including your house and you while sleeping. You get toaseted crispy, when you get up in morning. Or sleep die forever

[Trombonauta]

No. Even with no displays on, electronic buttons in many appliances (fans, dishwashers, ovens, ceramic cook...) are continuously waiting for signal, thus supplied, thus wasting the transformer loss... This is misinformation, as you can't simplify for people to identify. The point is the measured mW for them and the comparison to hours of their real use wasted a year, or to leaving the lights on while going to another room, for example.

[racingchannel]

A KW here is 10.89 a KW not 30 cents lol

[brolymc]

We unplugged toasters so fires don't happen

[Ram-reem]

If your in California you are screwed!