Killing the vampires, removing the warts
By “vampires” I mean those little wall warts that all our wireless and portable devices use now. Things that plug in and stay in, but may only be needed for a certain span of time or only during certain hours of the day.
Limited time use vampires:
Cell phone charger, camera battery charger, tool charger…
Specified time daily use vampires:
Baby monitors, cordless phone bases and handsets, dustbusters, radios, TV’s, cable tuners, computers, digital clocks…
I’d love to use a variety of timers to kill power to these devices, but the ones I’ve seen are bulky and ugly. Home automation based outlets would work for things you want to kill during specified times, but aren’t convenient for limited time devices. But then that might introduce a new vampire INSIDE your outlet!
One of my pet peeves is how outlets today are not well suited to the task of providing power to numerous small amp devices. Most of the devices we use every day consume between 5 and 12 vDC at .5 amps or less. On one wall of my kitchen, I have between 7 and 10 different low voltage devices plugged in. Each has a transformer built into the plug that is a different shape, size, and color from the one next to it. Some prevent another transformer being used in the duplex outlet next to it. Yes, there are new outlets that shift the pattern around some, so that there are tree instead of two outlets per box, or outlet covers that expand the outlets to 6 or 8 at different angles. These are just moving the deckchairs, you still have a power sucking tumor growing on your wall.
This is a blight affects every kitchen, and I’ve yet to see an effective way of dealing with it. Power strips are designed to be hidden, but that causes difficulty on countertops that were designed to be watertight and NOT have places for things to hide for hygienic purposes. Plus there is that thick cord to deal with.
But the problem is not just in the kitchen, it’s in the bedroom, the mudroom, the office, even the bathroom! Things like smartphones are part of our daily existence, who would have though that part of our “morning routine” might be snagging the phone from the charger when they built that bathroom 25 years ago? For some people, that is the most convenient place to center that bit of their life.
Does anyone have any ideas, or tricks, or products they like that addresses what I’m ranting about?
Tu stultus es
Rebuilding my home in Cypress, CA
Also a CRX fanatic!
Look, just send me to my drawer. This whole talking-to-you thing is like double punishment.
Replies
How about making a multi-gang wall box, with a switch-and-receptacle in each 'gang'. You can buy the device that is a switch-with-outlet.
Wire it so that each outlet is controlled by the switch directly above it. When you plug you cell phone in to charge, flip the switch. When you unplug the phone, flip it off.
Simple sure, the only thing I don't like is you still have the wart on the wall, and now you need to devote 3 inches of wall space for every wart. I'm trying to picture a bank of outlet switch combos in a line. The other problem is you turn the switch on and leave it there longer that the charger needs to charge.
That is something to keep in mind though, especially for thing like appliances in the kitchen that people like unplugging.
Tu stultus esRebuilding my home in Cypress, CAAlso a CRX fanatic!
Look, just send me to my drawer. This whole talking-to-you thing is like double punishment.
Aren't most of these chargers off when the chargee is not attached; even though the charger is still pluged-in?
Nope. If you are near one that is in the outlet but not plugged into anything, feel it. It will be warm. It's basicly contintiously turning electricity into heat, multiplied by a number of those multiplied by time and it can really add up - don't have that number at my fingertips at the moment though.
Tu stultus esRebuilding my home in Cypress, CAAlso a CRX fanatic!
Look, just send me to my drawer. This whole talking-to-you thing is like double punishment.
Neato! I'm heating the room now, I just plugged them all in that I have.
Seriously, I can't see THAT much juice being used. The hassle will be cured in a few yrs, self charging cell phones are already in the works. Then there is induction chargers, like ele. toothbrushes use.
Just be patient, it'll all be good.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations
They kill Prophets, for Profits.
I just did my own amature electrical audit on my house. I found out that the 16 hrs a day that we are sleeping or working we spend $360 a year to run electricity to whatever is plugged in.Cell phone chrgers and the like use about $1 per year to keep plugged in and not charging. Doesn't sound like alot to me but if you have 20 things that you keep plugged in you could save almost $2 a month.My refrigerator is old but surprisingly efficient. I did just do it when we had the coldest week if the year though and my first floor was about 60 degrees. I plan on doing itagain in the spring summer and fall to get a better idea of how and where to save. One thing that surprised me was our cable/DVR box. Just sitting there plugged in costs just over $1 a month. And then with all the shows I have it automatically record adds another $1.50. They don't tell youthat when you sign up.The book that inspired this is called Home Energy Diet. Wow what a resource. It tells you what to do, how to do it and all the calculations involved in getting the info to make sense. HVAC, electrical, plumbing..... How to figure all of money spent on all of it.Once you know where it goes, then you know how to save it.
there's been a couple awareness raising things on TVlately about this stuff and how it costs some folks a few hundred bucks a year on power cost. I guess we can go to the library to borrow a thing that you plug in through for 24 hours and it tells you what that device is wasting
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
I saw that with some or one of the new electric cars, there will be or is, an induction coil in the console area. Just lay the cell phone down, and it is chargeing..like a tooth brush.
Problem would be the constant yakkers would never set it down long enough to recharge (G)Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations
They kill Prophets, for Profits.
Yeah, you'd think some peoples would see their lips fall off by time they get to be 35 years old
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
Just checked 4 of mine, no hum, and they are room temp, not warm. I really don't think there is current flow if they are not being used. The circuit is not complete.
A recent article in National Geographic cites a study by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory that found that "vampire" power sucked up by electronics in standby mode can add up to 8 percent of your electric bill.steve
I really don't think there is current flow if they are not being used
The age of the wart is significant, too. Any in the last 4-5 years have a cut off so that they are not vampires unless in use.
Transformer, in its simplest form is a coil of wire around a core. That coil is continuous from one end to the other (thinks from black to white conductor). The other "end" of the transformer has a proportionate number of coils for the difference in output from the given input.
This works due to the magentic force being at 90º to the electical force, so the line voltage 'draws' electrons around the secondary coil in propotion the the number of windings (in general at least--physics always has the divil i nthe details). So, the secondary coil is suposed to only have a load when one is plugged in. The "line" side is active unless an ".OR." switch is incorperated--which, IIRC, is required under modern law.
So, new "warts" may be 'vampire proof'; but older ones may not be.Occupational hazard of my occupation not being around (sorry Bubba)
There is a sensor and chip that is monitoring if something is plugged into it to require a charge. That activates the switch to send charge to it.but meanwhile that brain is still on and using a tiny flow of juice whenever it is plugged in.
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
I've seen outlets behind lower cabinets with six or eight outlet surge protectors plugged in and concealed in a drawer. At least this removes the warts from your wall - it doesn't take care of the power use issue. Like you mentioned, the products I've seen that interrupt power to unused transformers are large and unsightly.
I'm looking forward to standardized chargers (at least for cell phones). They will help with the mass of cords around the kitchen.
Pick up one of those hand-crank radios like LL Bean sells; they have adapters to charge cell phones. Now you don't need a wall wart, and you can excerise at the same time.
Mine doesn't have a USB type plug, though, so I can't charge my phone.
One small ray of sunshine -- most (all but Apple) cell phone mfgrs recently agreed on a standard charging scheme, meaning one wart fits all! In a couple of years anyway when it kicks in.
What took 'em so long?
Mike Hennessy
Pittsburgh, PA