Comment on Is it OK to leave device chargers plugged in all the time? An expert explains
hendrik@palaver.p3x.de 1 week agoIt doesn't completely generalize that way. I have an old stereo which uses like 7W on standby. And an old pair or computer speakers which don't really care if I press the button to turn them off. I mean that's not the power brick, but the device after that, so a bit out of scope for this article. But if I weren't unplugging them... 10W is 26€ a year and not just a few cents.
ExcessShiv@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 week ago
Key thing here being that they’re old…there are limits to how much power electrical equipment is allowed to consume in standby mode (at least in the EU) today, it’s not allowed to consume more than 0.5W in standby mode.
hendrik@palaver.p3x.de 1 week ago
Yes, that's why I say it doesn't generalize. But they mention this in the article. These old power bricks
from the 90s with a heavy copper transformer inside waste a lot of power on standby compared to the modern switch-mode power supplies. But times have changed. On the flipside we have a lot more electronic gadgets these days and things in fact add up. So if you have modern things like 5 smart lightbulbs in the house, then a network switch, an internet router and a wifi extender, plus a few USB chargers at the bedside, the livingroom, a TV set with a PS4 and a soundbar plus subwoofer... You're likely paying more than a few cents for that. And the things which run unattended 24/7 for decades, buried somewhere, tend to not get replaced every few years, so you might still own a power brick from the 90s. So I'd say it's worth looking into... I mean not super important, you can as well skip it and just pay the amount... But it's a thing.