Does it bother you when people dont turn things off when not in use?

[gdextreme]

I'm with the OP. The thing I hate most is that appliances like TV don't switch off completely when switched off from the remote. They go in standby mode while still using 10-15 watts. Even computers for that matter don't switch off completely. They are still consuming power unless you switch them off from the socket.

 

[SlitheryDee]

I've never had a blackout from other people using too much electricity. The electric company will charge them for what they use and spend that money maintaining an infrastructure that will support whatever use each customer is willing to pay for. I generally don't worry about what other people do with their money.

 

[MrPickins]

Originally posted by: FelixDeKat
... Multiply this behavior by thousands if not millions of homes around the country and it shouldnt make you wonder why our very own neighborhood had a blackout today. We set a record in DFW for energy use Friday, June 26, 2009.
...

I'm sure the 100F heat had nothing to do with it...

You should be ranting about people who have a/c's set to 70.

 

[FelixDeCat]

Originally posted by: SlitheryDee
I've never had a blackout from other people using too much electricity. The electric company will charge them for what they use and spend that money maintaining an infrastructure that will support whatever use each customer is willing to pay for. I generally don't worry about what other people do with their money.

Its not just about money, its about electric capacity and reaching the limits of availabilty for all citizens in a region / state:

http://www.dallasnews.com/shar...tweather_.17d4217.html

Loads on the grid that supplies about 85 percent of the electricity in Texas have been breaking records for June all week, with more than 60,000 megawatts of electricity used both Monday and Tuesday. The grid is expected to pump out about 61,500 megawatts today.

The council predicts consumers will use more than 63,000 megawatts Thursday, which would exceed the previous all-time high of 62,339 megawatts, set in August 2006.

The previous daily record for June was set last year, at 59,000 megawatts. Earlier this year, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which oversees the grid, had expected a June high of only about 56,000 megawatts.

"Clearly, we've busted that," said Dottie Roark, a council spokeswoman.

Predictions tend to run a little higher than the actual levels, Roark said. But the usage levels are still extraordinary for the early summer.

Normally, higher usage levels follow hot weather, as air conditioners run overtime. But It is unclear whether temperatures alone can account for high consumption this year.

"This June certainly doesn't look unusual," said Daniel Huckaby a meteorologist for the National Weather Service. "It's above normal, but not extraordinary."

Huckaby said temperatures across much of the rest of Texas are higher than Dallas-Fort Worth, where rainfall earlier this month have held them down somewhat.

"Corpus Christi and Brownsville are in the worst drought anywhere in the country right now," he said. "That's not a good position to be into when you head into the summer."

Despite the extraordinarily high energy usage, no brownouts are expected. The grid, which covers three-quarters of Texas, can dependably supply up to 72,700 megawatts of electricity per day, Roark said.

We only have a 9000 watt difference left, and estimates at peak usage were way off. I hate to see what happens when we hit the wall of 72,700 next year.

NO ELECTRICTY SOUP FOR YOU! :shocked:

 

[MrPickins]

Originally posted by: FelixDeKat
We only have a 9000 watt difference left, and estimates at peak usage were way off. I hate to see what happens when we hit the wall of 72,700 next year.

NO ELECTRICTY SOUP FOR YOU! :shocked:

Or we could get on the ball and build more power plants (preferably nuclear).

 

[Jeff7]

Originally posted by: shortylickens
Thats the problem I have. Nobody has any clue how much current they are drawing. They just assume everything needs to be off, because thats all they know.
Central AC uses the most power, by a LONG shot. Next is major appliances, when they are in use.
Then computers and TV's.

Any kind of gadget that needs recharging is using far less current. And they dont keep drawing once they are charged anyway.

Folks need to buy a bunch of inline power meters before they get all bent out of shape and start unplugging crap.

Touch the wall wart of your cellphone charger, or other rechargeable thing, once the device is fully-charged. It will almost certainly be warm - that's just wasted power there.
So yes, there is current being drawn even after the device is charged, and that current is turned into waste heat. It's likely to be fairly low though, only a few watts. It really depends on how much time and money the designers of the power adapter invested into making it an efficient device.

It's the same with devices in standby mode - if the designers want the device to be efficient in that mode, they will do so.
I've seen a small DVD player that used almost 10 watts in standby mode. I've also seen a remote-controlled 10,000BTU air conditioner that didn't even register any current usage on my Kill-A-Watt meter while the AC was in standby mode - it was below the minimum range of the meter.