I stand with Texas

[tyromeo55]

Ya know. They would probably be better off if they shut their mouth and just prey they can get thru it. By asking, they are going to have a useless run on electricity. The same idiots that would buy fuel in ziploc baggies (and then place in their trunk) will be just making the situation worse

If any of those people are reading this don’t be fooled. You can’t fill a bathtub with electricity using a toaster and really hot water. No matter who tells you otherwise

 

[jakeman]

If any of those people are reading this don’t be fooled. You can’t fill a bathtub with electricity using a toaster and really hot water. No matter who tells you otherwise

I wish the people that were putting gasoline in plastic bags would try. What's the worst thing that could happen?

 

[Truckdriver]

I’m amazed how much power my electronics draw when they’re off. None of them individually pull much standby power, but a couple of TVs and a PC and an XBox and all the other little appliances add up quickly.

I ran an experiment about a year ago. I drive a truck so I'm only home 3 or 4 days a month. My average electric bill was running about $56-$60 a month for the first 3 years I lived in my apartment.

Got to talking with a friend in the utilities industry. He told me about the "standby power" on most tech devices. I got to thinking about that. I went out and got some power strips and plugged them into the wall. Then I plugged the computers, cable box, wifi router, TV's and everything electronic but the stove and fridge into the strips. Every time I left the house, I turned off the power strips.

Next electric bill, I noticed an immediate $20 drop in my monthly utility bill. Ran it like that for 3 months, then next 3 months, I left the strips powered on. Yep, immediate $20 increase in the monthly bill.

Now I turn the strips off when I'm not using them.

Why pay extra for power consumption that your not using?

 

[tRidiot]

I ran an experiment about a year ago. I drive a truck so I'm only home 3 or 4 days a month. My average electric bill was running about $56-$60 a month for the first 3 years I lived in my apartment.

Got to talking with a friend in the utilities industry. He told me about the "standby power" on most tech devices. I got to thinking about that. I went out and got some power strips and plugged them into the wall. Then I plugged the computers, cable box, wifi router, TV's and everything electronic but the stove and fridge into the strips. Every time I left the house, I turned off the power strips.

Next electric bill, I noticed an immediate $20 drop in my monthly utility bill. Ran it like that for 3 months, then next 3 months, I left the strips powered on. Yep, immediate $20 increase in the monthly bill.

Now I turn the strips off when I'm not using them.

Why pay extra for power consumption that your not using?

Makes sense for someone like you - not worth the effort for most of us. I mean... sure, you saved $20 a month by turning things off for 85-90% of the month. Sure wouldn't work in my case, we live here every day. We could go pull the plugs on things that only get used once a month or less, but that's not all that many, and the hassle of trying to dig behind the entertainment center to reach a single plug to turn off that DVD/BD player isn't worth tweaking my back.

 

[Truckdriver]

Makes sense for someone like you - not worth the effort for most of us. I mean... sure, you saved $20 a month by turning things off for 85-90% of the month. Sure wouldn't work in my case, we live here every day. We could go pull the plugs on things that only get used once a month or less, but that's not all that many, and the hassle of trying to dig behind the entertainment center to reach a single plug to turn off that DVD/BD player isn't worth tweaking my back.

That's why you put the power strip in an easily accessible spot...

Seriously though. Wasn't suggesting everyone do what I did. Was just relating my experience with "standby powered devices" like @SirROFL was talking about

 

[tRidiot]

No, I get it, but it's just not feasible for us. The majority of those devices for us DO get used fairly regularly, a few are once a month or every couple of months. But for lots of reasons, including the aesthetics of not having a bunch of power strips out and easily accessible and visible is a factor. My wiring mess is hassle enough as it is, and keeping it all hidden is a good thing.

 

[Gideon]

But for lots of reasons, including the aesthetics of not having a bunch of power strips out and easily accessible and visible is a factor. My wiring mess is hassle enough as it is, and keeping it all hidden is a good thing.

Yeah I'm certainly not going to expend a lot of energy worrying about a handful of small items, but it's something I'll be taking into consideration when I build a house in the near future, particularly since I plan to be at least partially off-grid.

It's a product design problem. Decadent Westerners grew up with reliable power and don't know what goes into maintaining a grid. If they had to choose between Netflix and A/C they wouldn't know what to do.

 

[O4L]

Yeah I'm certainly not going to expend a lot of energy worrying about a handful of small items, but it's something I'll be taking into consideration when I build a house in the near future, particularly since I plan to be at least partially off-grid.

It's a product design problem. Decadent Westerners grew up with reliable power and don't know what goes into maintaining a grid. If they had to choose between Netflix and A/C they wouldn't know what to do.

A/C!

 

[Rez Exelon]

Yeah I'm certainly not going to expend a lot of energy worrying about a handful of small items, but it's something I'll be taking into consideration when I build a house in the near future, particularly since I plan to be at least partially off-grid.

It's a product design problem. Decadent Westerners grew up with reliable power and don't know what goes into maintaining a grid. If they had to choose between Netflix and A/C they wouldn't know what to do.

My daughter would be dying without Netflix. But I suppose if she cried enough we could have no Netflix AND no AC. I'm outside enough everyday that I'm acclimated to living without it if needed.

 

[Dale00]

Do not run "heavy draw" appliances off of power strips.....risk of overload and fire
https://eta-safety.lbl.gov/safety-alert/dont-overload-power-strips