That'd be me then ...
Got a great tip from a mate who works in the Electricity Industry.

An appliance containing a heating element draws power when it is turned off but switched on at the wall.

This is referred to in the industry as 'hidden revenue'.

I didn't believe him, so he dared me to turn off all appliances at the wall for 3 months and see if I noticed a difference in the power bill.

Couldn't believe it. Bill dropped by 30%.

So my fellow b3tans, turn off your kettle, toaster, fans, heaters and computers at the wall when they are not in use. You will save a packet.
(Que?, Fri 24 Oct 2008, 8:19, 12 replies)

this is
whats known as an inductive current , its not to rip you off but rarther a physics thing. this is prevalant in a device with a coil in it such as a kettle. My cordless kettle gets warm just sitting on its base thats why i allways keep some water in it.
(welgar, Fri 24 Oct 2008, 8:24, closed)

That's nonsense.
There's no way a switched-off heater can draw power if it's plugged in, on account of how it's switched off. As in, the circuit is physically broken by the on/off switch somewhere just after the power cable gets into the equipment.
(gordonjcp, Fri 24 Oct 2008, 8:32, closed)

A lot of stuff doesn't have a broken physical switch
PCs for example still keep the motherboard connected and powered for USB devices. THere's also a current in every extension cable and multi-gang plug due to the voltage difference along the resistance of the wire.

/uncle worked in a power station
( Grrrmachine the indifference engine, Fri 24 Oct 2008, 8:35, closed)

What about the 30% decrease in power consumption
Is it likely?

/genuinely curious
( LemonEntryMyDearWatson This time, Moriarty, the hand is on the other foot, Fri 24 Oct 2008, 9:00, closed)

Ohm Eye God
no voltage drop. No voltage drop - no power loss.

/grandfather worked in a power station
/doctorate in modelling current distributions in conductors
(ubergeekian, Fri 24 Oct 2008, 10:38, closed)

there'd be *some*
but not very much.

phone chargers etc do warm up quite a bit when they're plugged in.

stupid transformers.
( catness, Sun 26 Oct 2008, 17:58, closed)

Have a look for
the +5v(B) jumper on your motherboard- you could just save yourself... well, very little (500mA @5v maximum). But some!

Also, invest in a "smart" power block that turns the peripherals off whenever the PC goes off- I reckon mine's paid for itself this year (a couple of monitors, some speakers, etc all plugged into it).

Like someone below says, there's no voltage drop in the wire, so there's no current flowing. Power is current x voltage, so there's no power loss from a mains extension just being sat there, unless it's one of the ones with a flashing light (cheap surge protected ones).

Power will, however, be lost along the wire when it's providing power to a load as current is flowing through the wire, and the wire has a resistance. This loss is approximately the square root of FA over a 2ft extension, though a surprising amount of heat can be created inside a long coil of wire carrying AC!

/Degree in Mechatronics, several damaged cable-reels.
( uberdeity Wondered why Owen Lars knew of the term "hell" on, Fri 24 Oct 2008, 17:33, closed)

..
it all depends on where and how close the on/off switch is in relation to the circuit. Also remebber that any capacitors may still be holding a lot of charge. This is cabable of setting up circulating currents between themselves and any inductors.
(welgar, Fri 24 Oct 2008, 8:41, closed)

I tried this with my fridge







Didn't work very well.
( Naked Ape call me Caitlyn, Fri 24 Oct 2008, 9:43, closed)

It works the other way
Get a bloody big inductor stuck in your mains socket (WARNING: BLOODY DANGEROUS! DON'T MESS WITH MAINS UNLESS YOU ARE QUALIFIED!) and you can screw with a number of older electric meters so that they don't register as much / any current flowing.
Something to do with it arsing about with the the phase angle IIRC (can't remember too well, I was drunk for that lecture).
( uberdeity Wondered why Owen Lars knew of the term "hell" on, Fri 24 Oct 2008, 10:26, closed)

potentialy
that could work unless you are on a peak demand meter in which case you could bankrupt yourself. a bank of capacitors could also work , they are used in comercial installations to reduce the phase angle. I cant remember i was a bit drunk for some of my classes as well.

Either way DONT FUCK AROUND WITH IT IF YOU DONT KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING
(welgar, Fri 24 Oct 2008, 10:34, closed)

Only one problem with those....
Doesn't work on Ring Mains...
(Potty Jag har smör i min rumpspringa, Fri 24 Oct 2008, 17:04, closed)