OT - mobile phone chargers number 1 planet killer - official

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

This always confuses me. If I turn the freezer down the temperature goes up.
If I press the down button on my VCR the channel number goes up, because I'm
going down the list and the numbers get higher the lower down the list they
are. I can't cope with modern life, that the truth of it.

Bill

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

"Steve Terry" wrote in message
...

"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.

I'm inclined to think that, whichever is the correct
way to say it, this would be irresponsible advice.

Well, you have to keep your frozen food at -18deg, otherwise the bugs can
still multiply and you could get the ****s. Then you'd be sat on the bog for
ages. That would be bad for the environment, because:
1. You would stink the house out, making the missus drive round to her
mother's in her 4x4.
2. You would read the the salacious details of soap stars' lives in the
Daily Mirror whilst on the throne, thus encouraging you to watch more
energy-gobbling TV.
3. You would use reams of bog paper, thus causing a forest of trees to get
chopped down.
4. In the event of an accident you might have to put your kecks in the
washing machine on a deep clean cycle, thus using leccy and detergent.
5. You would become dehydrated, leading to the consumption of a few extra
pints of ale. And as every greenfreak will know, it takes enough water to
fill Coniston Lake to make one pint of beer.

Bill

"Steve Terry" wrote in message
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Most people twiddle regularly with their knobs pointlessly anyway

Mine fell off. Mind you that was twenty years ago. It hasn't been a problem,
really.

Bill

"Roderick Stewart" wrote in message
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On Fri, 17 Nov 2006 02:05:33 GMT, "Steve Terry"
wrote:

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

Turn it down a bit?

Placing the fridge so there is a clear airflow, ideally of cool air,
over the condenser tubes at the back should help it a bit, though I
couldn't guess how much you'd need to do to achieve a useful
improvement. It might be enough just to clear any junk that is leaning
against it or move it an inch or two further from the wall. Some
objective measurements would be interesting if anybody has the time
and patience to do them.

Rod.

I have installed 24VDC fridges designed for yachts, but in motorhomes. They
work just like a mains fridge with a compressor, etc. To my surprise the
instructions tell you to leave a decent space around the radiator thingy at
the back, but not to ensure air flow. I actually did the first one with no
airflow and it just ran and ran and the radiator thingy gor red hot. I put
two fridge vents (Electrolux ones, meant for gas fridges) in the vehicle
wall, allowing convection currents, and eee by gum it made a big difference!
The manufacturer's instructions are all the more surprising because one of
the sales points of the fridge is that it uses a minimal amount of power
(important in yachts).

Bill

"linker3000" wrote in message
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Bill, you idiot!

This has nothing to do with email!

The USB charging power comes down the outer braid of the USB cable using
the skin effect as it is actually high frequency energy generated by the
CPU. The CPU radiates microwave energy, which is picked up and directed to
the USB port by the large lump of metal placed in close proximity to the
CPU - notice the 'vanes' on most modern heatsinks? - they are actually
waveguides and microwave reflectors.

In reality, the CPU does not heat up due to power dissipation caused by
fast transistor switching, but because of the microwave energy field it
generates as a 'vessel' for the magic white smoke held in its core and
which must not be vented because without it the CPU will not work.

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).

Thank goodness someone has finally explained this! I've asked the
manufacturers, looked on Wikipaedia, asked my mum, everything, and no-one
has been able to provide an explanation that I could relate to. Thank you!

Bill

"charles" wrote in message
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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 ;-)
You have to watch it though with that bugger! Sometimes it slams shut for no
reason and spills your pint! Then you get some sort of weird message on the
screen: "Please insert a suitable disk."

Bill

"Max Demian" wrote in message
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I do question how much heat will bas through the material the mug is made
from.

Not a lot as most ceramics are poor insulators..

"Not a lot as most ceramics are good insulators."
or
"A lot as most ceramics are poor insulators."

It's a good idea to put a sock around your mug when you're drinking tea in
cold conditions, especially if it's windy.

Bill

"Bill Wright" wrote in message
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"Steve Terry" wrote in message
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Most people twiddle regularly with their knobs pointlessly anyway

Mine fell off. Mind you that was twenty years ago.
It hasn't been a problem, really.
Bill
It could be, your fridge freezer may have been left overly cold,
wasting energy and your money.
Or the opposite endangering your health.

Or maybe you've just been wanking too much

Steve Terry

In article , Max Demian
writes
"Prometheus" wrote in message
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In article , Max Demian
writes
------------Cut--------------
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.

I was given one of those last Christmas. It gets hot, but, since almost
all
coffee mugs have a rim on the base to stop heat from being conducted down
to
the table, the same rim stops heat from the gadget from passing up to the
coffee.

I thought the ridge on the base was to prevent liquid being drawn
underneath by capillary action and causing the mug to stick. Since heat
rises this 'rim' should not cause much of a problem.

"Heat rises" refers to convection currents. Conducted heat passes in any
direction with equal ease.

I was using the simplistic term.

I suppose there may be a little convection in the space under the mug, but a
saucepan designed to be used on a hotplate or boiling ring has a flat bottom
and is made of a conductive material.

Which is sensible.

I do question how much heat will bas through the material the mug is made
from.

Not a lot as most ceramics are poor insulators..

I suspect that the "boundary effect" will prevent convection cells
forming, there will be conduction through the rim of some materials,
i.e. ceramic* and (single) metal, there will also be radiant transfer
but this depends on the emissivity of the materials.

Of course you could: either drink quicker, or get Dewar flask design
mug.

* Ceramics are poor conductors of electricity and good conductors of
heat.
--
Ian G8ILZ

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

"Steve Terry" wrote in message
...

"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.

I'm inclined to think that, whichever is the correct
way to say it, this would be irresponsible advice.

Well, you have to keep your frozen food at -18deg, otherwise the bugs
can still multiply and you could get the ****s. Then you'd be sat on
the bog for ages. That would be bad for the environment, because:
1. You would stink the house out, making the missus drive round to her
mother's in her 4x4.
2. You would read the the salacious details of soap stars' lives in
the Daily Mirror whilst on the throne, thus encouraging you to watch
more energy-gobbling TV.
3. You would use reams of bog paper, thus causing a forest of trees
to get chopped down.
4. In the event of an accident you might have to put your kecks in the
washing machine on a deep clean cycle, thus using leccy and detergent.
5. You would become dehydrated, leading to the consumption of a few
extra pints of ale. And as every greenfreak will know, it takes
enough water to fill Coniston Lake to make one pint of beer.

Bill

This sounds like the voice of experience.