OT - mobile phone chargers number 1 planet killer - official

"Pyriform" wrote in message
...
I have this morning received a communication from my current energy "1
Unplug your mobile phone charger

These little black boxes suck 100kWhrs a day from your socket,
even when your phone is fully charged!"
Drivel, Switch mode PSUs when not under any load, draws hardly anything

Steve Terry

On Fri, 17 Nov 2006 00:03:46 -0000, "Pyriform"
wrote:

tim(yet another new home) wrote:
"Pyriform" wrote in message
...
I have this morning received a communication from my current energy
supplier, Southern Electric. After explaining that they've fulfilled
their May promise not to increase my prices again for the rest of
2006, and are therefore now going to increase them from 1st January
2007, they point me in the direction of their handy energy-saving
leaflet, which they have enclosed.

"Work WONDERS in a WEEKEND", it proclaims, ahead of a list of 4
energy saving priorities. In fourth place, the fridge-freezer.

Can you enlighten me how I'm supposed to use my
fridge freezer to save leccy?

In third place, the standby buttons. At number 2, the boiler
thermostat (not the room thermostat, as those of us less expert in
the field might have predicted). But in pole position, the lethal,
energy guzzling mobile phone charger. I quote:

"1 Unplug your mobile phone charger

These little black boxes suck 100kWhrs a day from your socket, even
when your phone is fully charged!"

Apart for the erors that the others have pointed out, for a modern
phone it isn't even wasteful at all.

New phone chargers use a different technology that doesn't draw
a curent when the phone is not plugged into it.


I rather thought I was the one pointing out the errors, but I guess my
approach was too subtle for you.

However, your contribution to the general stupidity is duly noted. I am
fascinated by the intelligent zero current charger, and eagerly await your
explanation of how it works. Try to write on one side of the paper at a
time.


Well the later chargers obviously don't have zero current when not
charging, but it is reasonable low.
As I just happen to have an old and new charger handy I thought I'd
measure their current.

Old charger On charge 4.3W No phone connected 1.38W
New charger On charge 3.2W No phone connected 0.11W

Some of the organizations that tell us how much we would save by
turning off equipment ought to do some practical measurements. They're
probably the same people that told us that washing machines, microwave
ovens and sundry other equipment wouldn't work after 1999.

The worst culprit I've found so far is a sky receiver that uses 15W on
standby, not the TV that's under 0.5W on standby.

"JF" wrote in message
...
In message , Digby
writes

You could 'borrow' electricity from the neighbours if this comes about
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20061115-8229.html

The trouble with Tesla is that he's not dead enough.

Little to do with dodgy dead Serbs.
The idea is the run a resonator on a standard frequency of around 6MHz
in each house, with chargeable products like laptops, mobile phones, etc,
having a built in matching frequency resonator detecting,
and rectifying down to DC to charge up.

Wireless charging up to 10 yards, only thing been stopping it,
is an agreed standard HF frequency.
Cos whatever is used will make that frequency unusable for radio comms

Steve Terry

"tim(yet another new home)" wrote in message
...

"Pyriform" wrote in message
...
I have this morning received a communication from my current energy
supplier, Southern Electric. After explaining that they've fulfilled their
May promise not to increase my prices again for the rest of 2006, and are
therefore now going to increase them from 1st January 2007, they point me
in the direction of their handy energy-saving leaflet, which they have
enclosed.

"Work WONDERS in a WEEKEND", it proclaims, ahead of a list of 4 energy
saving priorities. In fourth place, the fridge-freezer.

Can you enlighten me how I'm supposed to use my
fridge freezer to save leccy?

Turn it down a bit?

Steve Terry

On Fri, 17 Nov 2006 02:05:33 GMT, "Steve Terry"
wrote:


"tim(yet another new home)" wrote in message
...

"Pyriform" wrote in message
...
I have this morning received a communication from my current energy
supplier, Southern Electric. After explaining that they've fulfilled their
May promise not to increase my prices again for the rest of 2006, and are
therefore now going to increase them from 1st January 2007, they point me
in the direction of their handy energy-saving leaflet, which they have
enclosed.

"Work WONDERS in a WEEKEND", it proclaims, ahead of a list of 4 energy
saving priorities. In fourth place, the fridge-freezer.

Can you enlighten me how I'm supposed to use my
fridge freezer to save leccy?

Turn it down a bit?

Steve Terry


Turn it up surely

"Digby" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 17 Nov 2006 02:05:33 GMT, "Steve Terry"
wrote:
"tim(yet another new home)" wrote in message
...

"Pyriform" wrote in message
...
Can you enlighten me how I'm supposed to use my
fridge freezer to save leccy?

Turn it down a bit?
Steve Terry

Turn it up surely

Turn the power down, allowing the temp to rise a bit.

and stop calling me Shirley

Steve Terry

In message , linker3000
writes of USB ports:

Some of this energy is now tapped off on modern computers to charge
mobile devices and also act as a personal space heater - if you have
ever sat with a laptop on your lap, you can clearly feel your nads
warming up (not the ladies, obviously).

I recently saw in Guildford's PC World a USB coffee warmer on their
wallyware display. It consisted of a USB lead and a pad which,
presumably, held some sort of element.

--
James Follett. "It is better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent
moral busybodies, The robber baron's cruelty sometimes sleeps, his cupidity
sometimes satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us
without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience."

In article ,
JF wrote:
In message , linker3000
writes of USB ports:

Some of this energy is now tapped off on modern computers to charge
mobile devices and also act as a personal space heater - if you have
ever sat with a laptop on your lap, you can clearly feel your nads
warming up (not the ladies, obviously).

I recently saw in Guildford's PC World a USB coffee warmer on their
wallyware display. It consisted of a USB lead and a pad which,
presumably, held some sort of element.

why not just use the cup tray that is already built-in to every computer.
You know, the one that you just push a button on the front panel to get it
to appear ;-)

--
From KT24 - in "Leafy Surrey"

Using a RISC OS computer running v5.11

tim(yet another new home) wrote:

The old stye charger included a transformer.
[...]
The new charges doesn't include a transformer (which is why
they are smaller)

A switch-mode charger also contains a transformer, it's just that it
runs a much higher frequency than 50 Hz and doesn't need a
(comparatively) large iron core. This transformer provides safety
isolation from the mains in exactly the same way as a older-style charger.

which, presumably have one circuit which is broken wheh the phone is
removed.

Not really, it's just arranged that the standing losses under no-load
conditions are less than the no-load loss of the 50 Hz transformer.

--
Andy

Steve Terry wrote:
"Pyriform" wrote in message
...
I have this morning received a communication from my current energy
"1 Unplug your mobile phone charger

These little black boxes suck 100kWhrs a day from your socket,
even when your phone is fully charged!"
Drivel, Switch mode PSUs when not under any load, draws hardly
anything

Oh, FFS!