Not really. It just makes your computer more slow. I could see if she didn't want to wait for her computer to start up, but she would have been better unplugging it. It is definitely sucking up energy.
Yes I believe that it does save money though this very well may be a huge myth. Who knows? If anyone has tried this before, please let us know as we're looking to save the environment and save money!
Here's the real question: If the amount saved is so insignificant that you can't tell you're saving it, is it worth the effort of unplugging things that aren't in use?
We are also trying to reduce our electric bill as it's so expensive lately. The good thing here in the UK is that all electric sockets have on/off switches, so even if an appliance is plugged into it, it won't work unless the socket's switched on. Anyway, what we did was we bought time controlled sockets/extensions. At night, around 12mn, all appliances which are connected to the timed sockets would switched off and it won't switched on till around 7am. We have 2 laptops and a desktop here in the house as my husband works at home. We also have 2 tvs and plenty of radiators/heaters so we need it to be on timer too. This saved us a few amount of electricity.
I don't really unplug things to save electricity. Because I live in Florida and it's hot most of the time, the thing that makes the biggest difference to my electric bill is the air conditioner. It makes a big difference to my bill to not use the air conditioner, so I have fans and keep the windows and screen doors open. When I look at my bill during the summer without air conditioning, it's a difference of dollars, versus the coins I would save by running around unplugging things, so I focus on that instead of unplugging.
This is moreso where I'm at. My computer monitors go into standby mode automatically, but I flip the switch to turn them off. Cell phone chargers left in the wall are another thing that drains some power even when the phone's not hooked up to it. I can understand having a power strip for things like computers, chargers, etc, but I don't want to reprogram the TV and DVD/VCR every time I go to use them, and I have my coffeepot set so it's ready when I get up in the morning. Also, I need some clock to look at in the kitchen, so the microwave and/or stove need to stay plugged in.
I don't know if anyone has mentioned it yet, but there is a device called a killawatt that helps you see what you would save in these cases. I think unplugging devices maybe taking it a little far, I think the most important thing is to turn things off when you're done. Lights, computer and the TV are the big culprits, I would say. Lights don't seem like a big deal, but when they get left on for hours and hours, it really starts to add up.
Agreed, I'm not sure if it's worth having to reprogram all my clocks and the microwave just to save a few pennies. I can deal with turning things off when not in use, but actually unplugging everything seems like more trouble than it's worth. To me heating and cooling a place consumes the most energy, so I focus on saving money there instead of worrying about unplugging small appliances.
I think unplugging when not in use would help save energy, especially if one is using extension wire. Plugging it would cause heat even if the device attached to it is not ON. It also save electrical hazards. However, turning on an equipment would also induce much energy.
Yes, unplugging everything you are not using does substantially lower your electricity costs. I only leave things plugged up that are inevitable; my refrigerator, stove, alarm clock, etc. all other appliances I unplug when I leave home because even though you turn it off if it's still plugged in it is still using power just not as much power as if you were to turn it on. My bill this month is only $29; this is a very low bill, even for a person living alone it usually costs more.
