Switch off and unplug appliances and chargers
Make sure lights and other electrical equipment in rooms you’re not using are turned off (not just left on standby) and only leave your chargers plugged in and switched on when you’re actually charging your device. At all other times make sure the socket is switched off and, ideally, your charger is unplugged. Easy!
Did you know that 95% of the energy used by the UK’s mobile phone chargers is wasted energy? Only 5% is actually used to charge phones, the rest is used when the charger is plugged into the wall but not switched off at the socket.
That’s over 50,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions that could be avoided if we all just unplugged our chargers after use. Amazingly, this is the equivalent of almost 500 football pitches’ worth of forest every year. Incredible!
And that goes for all appliances! Leaving televisions, DVDs and computers on standby, rather than switching them off, emits four million tonnes of CO2 and wastes £740m a year. The average household could save £37 in electricity bills each year by turning appliances off and not leaving them charging unnecessarily.
And, for those of you already onto this one, how about looking into solar-powered chargers?
Related links
Check out the solar chargers here
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Midhurst, GB , 20 Aug 2005
I hadn’t realised this. So that’s why the laptop charger always got so hot! I am now making a real effort to switch it off when laptop is 100% charged. Think of the money I’m saving. And the emissions I’m not emitting. (No personal comments thank you …)
Maidenhead, GB , 21 Aug 2005
Lynne – with the laptop you also need to consider the life of the battery. Laptop batteries have a finite life – depending on how much they’re drained and recharged.
If you’re not using your laptop at the time, it makes sense to unplug it once it’s charged. But if you’re using it, keep it plugged in until you’re done.
Taunton, GB , 25 Aug 2005
Can you run a laptop with the battery absent? (I don’t have a laptop so I can’t tell you the answer!). If this is possible then I reckon that it might be a good idea – but I don’t know for sure. I have a power meter that I could try it on when I next ‘see’ a laptop.
Maidenhead, GB , 25 Aug 2005
You can run most (if not all) laptops without the battery. Of course, a battery sat on the shelf will gradually discharge itself over time, too.
29 Sep 2005
This is somthing we have been thinking about for a while. It makes sense to turn everything off when not in use but for some reason its a hard habit to get into.
30 Sep 2005
I’m not sure that I believe the 95% number, but its a small task. Around the house (with 5 adults living here) I find tons fo chargers plugged in – for phones, laptops, games – and it’s gotten really easy just to unplug them.
As a routine I now just unplug everything on the way in and out of the house. I can’t measure the result, but I usually feel better leaving the house when I do. (I forgot once on the way to work. Half way there I had to call home to make sure someone did it for me)
Stroud, GB , 30 Sep 2005
I have an awful habit of forgetting to switch the charger ON when I really need it…but this should in theory mean that this comes easily. Persuading the whole family to turn other unnecessary sockets off may be another matter though.
london, GB , 01 Oct 2005
i had no idea. i never unplug mine.
im un plugging it now.
where is the energy going tho if its not attached to a phone tho? does it just go into the air?
Maidenhead, GB , 01 Oct 2005
The energy goes into the air as heat. Feel your chargers – they’re warm.
05 Oct 2005
we’ve also started going round the house unplugging chargers. its amazing how many the kids seem to have… on extension leads under the bed
07 Oct 2005
I didn’t know this either!
Also, remember to switch your TV, CD player, etc off standby. I know from when I worked at the Dept of Environment briefly that they said a lot of energy was wasted by leaving electrical items on standby.
25 Oct 2005
Most pieces of computer ancillary equipment ie scanners, printers, speakers do not switch off completly. You can buy a adaptor from www.oneclickpower.com which will switch off all the equipment once the computer is turned off. We have used one for about a year and no longer have the standby lights blinking at us when the computer is off!
Stroud, GB , 30 Oct 2005
Not doing too well at this, I’m afraid…it seems to demand a huge amount of concentration, so I guess I might be a good candidate for the gizmo the Mosses have invested in.
New Malden, GB , 31 Oct 2005
We used to find it really annoying when my brother would turn everything off at the plugs (e.g. kettle, toaster, TV & video, etc) but I realise now that he was saving us a lot of energy and money! Now I turn most things (washing machine, TV, Video, chargers) off at the wall if I’m not using them. I haven’t quite gone as far as turning off my kettle at the wall, cos I always end up waiting for it to boil when it’s turned off.
Leicester, GB , 31 Oct 2005
hmmmmm. I am not convinced that it is necessary to turn off appliances at the wall if they do not use an adaptor or if there is no standby light. I unplug my charger and turn off the TV and microwave at the wall, but I leave the kettle and toaster plugged in and switched on because they don’t have standby lights. Please somebody tell me have I got the right/wrong idea?
01 Nov 2005
I’m afraid my husband has difficulty believing this, and is very reluctant to do it, as the consequences for him would be calamitous if he forgets to switch it back on (the mobile is his main work phone as he’s a plumber and gas fitter).
So I think it will be a case of switching mine off, but leaving his on!
As for switching the computers off, we only do this when we go on holiday. All three of us are fairly high computer users and the time spent waiting for them to run up again would drive us nuts.
We might have a go at switching the TV off, I suppose, but our son might divorce us!
Edinburgh, GB , 04 Dec 2005
Here in Scotland we had a series of adverts about fire prevention in the home. One of them showed a man unplugging his phone from his charger but leaving it switched on with nothing attached. After a while (as it was an advert this was approximately 10 seconds but I imagine in reality it takes longer) the charger started smoking and then caught fire.
So it’s not just energy we’re saving by unplugging chargers!!! Scary thought.
Norwich, GB , 14 Feb 2006
Blimey. Didn’t think of that one. Duh.
28 Feb 2006
I find a lot of phone chargers emit white noise when turned on, so it’s so much more peaceful to switch them off
05 Mar 2006
I do try with the charger though sometimes forget to do it as quickly as I should. Everything else I switch off at the plug once I am done. The only exception is the landline phone. Our landline phone is one of those cordeless ones in a charger.I always assumed that once the phone is charged it stops using electricity – am i wrong?
05 Mar 2006
I do try with the charger though sometimes forget to do it as quickly as I should. Everything else I switch off at the plug once I am done. The only exception is the landline phone. Our landline phone is one of those cordeless ones in a charger.I always assumed that once the phone is charged it stops using electricity – am i wrong?
12 Mar 2006
I have the habit of leaving mylaptop to charge overnight. I WILL turn it off before I go to bed or when it is not being used.
17 Mar 2006
We recently started doing this with our cell phone chargers. We need to start doing it with lamps and tv/stereo, etc.
20 Mar 2006
So this is an action. I’m learning how to use this site, sorry.
25 Mar 2006
Um, a triccky one this. I’ve tried to do it before and failed miserably! Will try harder…
GB , 25 Mar 2006
We generally do this anyway as regards mobile chargers (excepting the occaisional memory lapse!) but tend to leave the TV switched on at the mains even though the stand-by is off. Does this still use electricity? I hope not as it’s a bit of an obstacle course past furniture to get to the socket!
25 Mar 2006
Have just told the kids that we are committing to this action – lot of mobile phones in this house, but we’re all up for turning off the chargers at the plug when we’re not charging.
03 Apr 2006
I always turn it off when it’s done! At last something I’ve already and always done! Yippee!
06 Apr 2006
I’m going to give this a go. I’ll be checking out my power box (where the main switches are) and finding out what controls what, then using those to turn off the mains power at night. As for charging, I’ll have to move my charger from by my PC to somewhere else to be able to turn it off when charged. It’s all a mess of wires under the computer :-)
12 Apr 2006
I used to plug my phone into the charger overnight if it needed it. But one day when I was charging it during the day I noticed that it only took an hour or so – so now I only charge it when I’m awake to switch it off after the minimum required time, and don’t leave it overnight!
23 Apr 2006
I’ve just realised I have been doing this wrong -I had been diligently unplugging the phone from the charger but now I realise you have to go one step further and turn it off at the wall if you want to save those emissions! Have now started doing this although have had a few false charging moments where I have plugged the phone in to a charger that was switched off. Still, I will no doubt get the hang of this one before too long…
GB , 29 Apr 2006
I think I can clear up some of the questions here:
Basically, the electriciy that comes out of the mains isn’t the kind that is suitable for phones, so your charger has to convert it into a (usually lower powered) version.
Consequently, whether there’s a phone on the end or not, the charger will be converting the electricity and loosing all that power as heat, etc.
This applies to any appliance that has an adapter – on laptops you’ll see them as plastic blocks with little lights, and they are usually found inside most other appliances.
I’m afraid it depends on each appliance – the only people who could probably tell us whether they all need switching off are the people who designed them!
20 May 2006
I’ve rearanged my plugs so that I can turn my chargers on and off when I’m not using them (I have several!) I need to remember to do so… TN
Little Green Fee, GB , 22 May 2006
I am still trying to remember to this one. I do switch off my kettle, toaster, microwave & cooker and most other sockets. I don’t switch off my TV, video, dvd, sterio or able box as most of it has stuff stored in the memory which would be lost (ie. date & time). Am I right in thinking that? Also has anyone heard of the Sava plug? It’s for fridges & freezers as they don’t use all of the electicity supplied all of the time. This plug kind of regulates it I think. I don’t know anyone who has one but would love to hear from anyone that does.
08 Jun 2006
You can actually save a lot of money as well as reducing emmissions on this one. PC Pro magazine ran a Switch It Off campaign and estimated you could save hundreds a year from switching off the computer and the peripherals especially if they are older models which are less energy efficient. Apparently you can save £12 a year by not leaving the TV on standby overnight, £35 a year switching off the PC overnight. But just reading through the comments here makes me realise how many things are made just to be on using and wasting energy all the time. Our landline phone for example runs of a transformer and does not work if you switch it off.
27 Jul 2006
Here’s a handy tip – We just bought a 6 plug extension cable with individual switches. Is stuck onto the side of the TV stand now so we can turn off the DVD, video, stereo, PS2 etc rather than using standby. Saves rooting around the back of the TV to find the right plugs to pull. Luckily the TV has a proper switch but the cable box resets if it’s unplugged which is a real pain. Should be a new law that all appliance store their settings and have proper off switches!
27 Jul 2006
If you want to scare yourselves, buy an electricity meter that monitors how much electricity an appliance plugged into it uses. I got one of ebay for about £20 and you can set the cost etc. plug in something like your TV or PC and leave it for a week and then see how much energy it has used and what it has cost!
Greenbelt, MD, US , 30 Aug 2006
This sounds quite challenging but too valuable to not try…
Wokingham, GB , 30 Aug 2006
I had not thought of this or realised how much electricity was being used but have now started to unplug chargers and have begun switching off my TV, DVD etc. and computer at the wall sockets. Reducing emissions and my electricity bill – can’t be bad!
05 Sep 2006
Thanks for bringing this to my attention. This is a focus for the coming month.
05 Sep 2006
Have recently brought a solar charger from Solio.com and am now using it to recharge my mobile phone and iPod. It has it’s own internal battery so you charge it up whenever the sun’s out, and can the charge your mobile etc whenever you like. Charging the mobile is as quick as plugging into the mains, but the charger itself takes a while to charge and seems to need a bright sunny day.
GB , 10 Sep 2006
For me, this seems like an easy action. I’ve only got the one phone charger. It sits by the extension cord by my bed. When my phone needs charging I plug it in. When it’s finished charging, I unplug it! Oh, and I switch off my phone sometimes too (like when I go to sleep, when I’m driving)... that would mean I charge my phone less often wouldn’t it?
12 Sep 2006
Our problem was all of our adaptors were scattered around the house (we do like our gadgets). Now we have them all in the bedroom attached to a multiple adapter with individual swiches for each of the 6 plugs. This makes it very easy to turn them off when they are at normal height and not charging something.
milton keynes, GB , 25 Sep 2006
i’ve stopped using my phone charger at home and now only charge my mobiles when i’m in the car. it’s one less thing plugged in at home.
Bath, GB , 27 Sep 2006
I usually plug my mobile in overnight to charge. After I read about this I decided to check how long it actually takes to charge up – it was fully charged within an hour. So now I will not only unplug my charger when finished, but I will charge the phone whilst I’m getting ready for work – instead of leaving it on all night while I sleep!
Edinburgh, GB , 28 Sep 2006
Does anyone know if you can fully Re-charge a mobile phone with a wind up charger or is it only enough for an emergency?
09 Oct 2006
Have just read everyone’s efforts and struggles with this one and am going to endeavour to unplug more stuff. Trouble for us is all our plugs are behind large pieces of furniture so we have to buy adaptors with individual switches. Thanks for everyone’s comments, Very inspiring.
10 Oct 2006
A newbie to the site but already feeling that I can make a difference simply by doing a few small things.
I have put my charger in my draw and decided that while I am travelling to work in the morning I will use the car to recharge my mobile instead of using the electricity.
Just little old me starting off.
Cheers Cosy Pete
Marlow, Buckinghamshire, GB , 14 Oct 2006
As soon as I read about this a while ago. I started to unplug the charger post use and put it away. I had no idea it still used energy just sitting there !
17 Oct 2006
im a bit confused…..got my mobile charger, cd player, hairdryer e.t.c permanently plugged into an extension lead which is plugged into a permanently turned on socket…..is that really really bad?! should i be turning off the switch at the wall or just unplugging all the appliances from the extension lead??
18 Oct 2006
i’m interested to hear comments about wind-up chargers and solar power. have a friend who was less than impressed with the wind-up phone charger she bought…should she have bought a more expensive one?
AL , 20 Oct 2006
I didnt realise that this wasted energy?!? im gonna make a real effort to make sure i unplug it.
31 Oct 2006
Easy one for us. It does look like some people have misunderstood this one slightly. Switching off at the wall is fine, it won’t consume any energy left plugged in but switched off.
Perhaps the confusion is that if it’s on but not connected to the phone, then there is some energy wasted as heat.
24 Nov 2006
Easy as I never leave chargers switched on anyway but it did remind me to revive an old habit of switching off at the wall & doing an evening prowl before bed to make sure nothing is left on standby.
02 Dec 2006
Chargers use very little electricity if there is no phone plugged in. Any electronics expert will confirm this. With any transformer the current flowing through the primary is proportional to the current drawn from the secondary. There will be some saving by switching it off but it will be very small. For safety reasons alone it is a good idea to switch off anything that is not being used – lights, computers, fires etc. In most cases it wil save money as well.
Bromsgrove, GB , 29 Dec 2006
Have been doing this for about a month. It’s easy once it becomes a habit. Also, I used to leave my phone on overnight, but now I turm it off so it needs charged less often. Don’t need a phone when you’re asleep anyways!!
London, GB , 26 Jan 2007
Always unplug my phone charger but it hadn’t occured to me to do the same with my laptop. But I will from now on
Calgary, CA , 11 Feb 2007
This will be a tougher habit to learn. I have walked away from the charger for so many years but maybe if I make the charge process a bit less convenient, it will stick. I will try to charge phone somewhere more conspicuous.
19 May 2007
I’m now switching off the DAB radio at the socket, and the PC at the socket after shutting down – I came down in the night and noticed a light shining from the back of the tower – presumably an led in the machine – which lights up a little bit of wall but you only would see that in the dark. And my new hands free cable came with an in car charger lead, so I no longer need to charge my cellphone in the house if I plug it in when I am in the car. Our 3-yr old always turns off the TV at the big button so its not on standby when we stop watching it or go out. ;0) Start ‘em early! NH
Hawick, GB , 09 Jan 2009
Our solution was to buy a six-way extension lead with individually-switched sockets, mount it in the hall cupboard and put all the chargers there. A small shelf holds the phones and other equipment and the battery re-charger is also there with boxes for depleted and recharged batteries.
Check out http://web.me.com/andymaybury/Andy_%26_Jo’s_website/Andy’s_work_on_the_house/Entries/2007/10/23_charging_bar.html
newcastle, GB , 04 May 2008
will do from now onn it will save so much money to
Taunton, GB , 14 May 2008
I was just looking back at this thread when I remembered that I wrote some info about laptop batteries (which relates to some degree to laptop charging): http://www.markporthouse.net/faq/?p=43