Does it affect the computer to leave it on all through the day?
By mimpi
@mimpi1911 (25464)
India
December 18, 2008 6:06am CST
I have a few queries as to some gadgets that we use daily.
Computer, AC, TV, Cell phone.
Does keeping these ON (in sleep mode for computers, for TV and AC: only the power on) affect the electric power consumption or make the gadgets lose their battery life?
4 people like this
20 responses
@alokn99 (5717)
• India
18 Dec 08
It's different for different gadgets atleast with the little knowledge that i have. Like the ones without batteries, like the TV and monitor, computer do have minumum power consumption and they are suggested to be kept off.
Items which have a battery like a laptop or a cell phone it is not advisable to leave them on the sleep mode especially when they are plugged into a powere outlet too often. It does have a tendency to reduce the battery life. In fact it is advised to disconnect the power source in a laptop and use the battery till it nearly drains out and recharge.
Although it does get difficult for us to do that everytime it is advised to switch off and not even leave the main power on for too long after charged. Sleep mode once in awhile as the name suggest is ok.
1 person likes this
@alokn99 (5717)
• India
19 Dec 08
Keeping the cell phone ON all the time does reduce the battery life.But then it's not easy to keep it OFF is it ? I cannot do so for the reason is that the reason i keep a cell phone is to always be accessible.
Another mistake we do in terms of reducing the battery life is to charge the phone everyday even when there is half charge or more. This does have its adverse effects on the life of the battery. It is advisable to let the battery drain out and then charge as much as possible.
@mimpi1911 (25464)
• India
19 Dec 08
I have been doing it all wrong, Alok!
Like I work on my laptop with the battery charging most of the times and never remember that I actually allowed intentional complete battery use up. On the contrary I thought doing would harm my computer! Only on fewer occasion it ran out of battery when the power wasn't there.
Many times, I keep the TV and AC power on, switching the remote off. That, I guess, is also not good. But I a really confused as to keeping my cell phone ON all through the night. Does it actually affect the battery life?
1 person likes this
@cupid74 (11388)
• Pakistan
18 Dec 08
Hi dear
one thing for sure
if they are with Power On, then for sure they are consuming some energy and will increase ur bill, trust me try to plug them off when they are not in use will savwe some money and powerr loss
And if they are on excessive charging, then it might reduce their battery life
Take care
1 person likes this
@mimpi1911 (25464)
• India
19 Dec 08
Thanks Zass. That makes much sense. I do not keep mobile on charging for long though. But I do keep AX and TV power on may times.
@max1950 (2306)
• United States
18 Dec 08
unless the unit or unit's are "unpluged" some electrical current runs through the line into the unit.just shutting the remote or whatever off dosen't work.with rechargeable batteries it is advisible to let the battery run down completely before recharging every once in awhile
1 person likes this
@mimpi1911 (25464)
• India
19 Dec 08
On the contrary I thought, using up complete battery charge is harmful!!
Thanks max.
@dpk262006 (58676)
• Delhi, India
19 Dec 08
Yes, even if you leave your gadgets in sleep mode, they continue to consume elecricity and we never come to know about it. If you do not switch off your stebliser of AC, even if AC has been switched off with the help of a remote control unit, it will consume 50 watts. Charger of cell phone should completely be disconnectedd, when your phone has completed charged. Over-charging not only wastes electricity, but it can also damage the handset. Like-wise, if the adaptor of laptop or Computer screen and CPU remains in 'on' position, they continue to consume electricity. To avoid wastage of electricity, we should switch off every gadget completely, even if we are going to leave it unattended for 10 mintues. If we remain alert to this aspect, we can save lots of elecricity and consequently we can reduce our elecritity bills.
@mimpi1911 (25464)
• India
19 Dec 08
Thanks deepak for some useful information there. I agree with you that we should be alert and that way we could actually avoid may accidents.
1 person likes this
@williamjisir (22819)
• China
23 Dec 08
Hello mimpi. I think that it affects the life expectancy of the battery of the laptop if it is left on all through the day. Right now the battery of my laptop is useless. I have already taken it out of the laptop. Take care, mimpi.
@mimpi1911 (25464)
• India
23 Dec 08
Yes, William that's what I got to know. But tell me one thing, is a new battery for laptop much expensive?
@williamjisir (22819)
• China
23 Dec 08
I am not sure about it, but I don't intend to buy a new battery as my laptop is not young any more.
@paulj0s3ph (77)
• Philippines
19 Dec 08
if the computer is like a server it always has to be turned on. but for home or personal use you have to turn it off once in a while. its car man.. you dont let your cars engine running all the time it gets busted. just like the processor/mother board it crashes and gets burn if you dont turn it off
peace man :)
@SViswan (12051)
• India
24 Dec 08
It does affect gadgets to be left on all day even when they are in sleep mode. I switch off the TV and computer when not in use...but I usually leave the computer on when I feel I will be back in a bit and hate the hassle of switching it on from scratch.
I heard somewhere that it is the monitor that consumes more power...so it's okay to leave the computer on...and switch off the monitor....of course, there is consumption of electric power but not as much.
@riyasam (16556)
• India
19 Dec 08
you've probably heard that lots of electronic equipment (like a TV) uses some electricity even when it's off. Is the amount significant? Yes. It's not the biggest part of your bill, but since it's possible to save energy here, you might as well. Standby power accounts for about 5% of household electricity use.
Any reduction in the volume of the cell's active chemicals will of course directly reduce the cell's electrical capacity. At the same time the cell's potential cycle life will automatically be reduced since the cell's useful life is defined to be over when its capacity is reduced by 20%.
@migsmartinez (1293)
• Philippines
19 Dec 08
Based on my experience, yes, it does. When you leave something plugged in, the device still consumes energy. With cellphones and laptops, if you leave them plugged in, their battery lives degrade. My older cellphone used to have a battery life of 2 days. I had a bad habit of leaving my phone plugged in overnight everyday. After a while, I noticed that my cellphone would die after a few hours. The repair person told me that it is possible to over-charge a battery and as an effect, the battery life diminishes.
@mimpi1911 (25464)
• India
20 Dec 08
Thanks for a great response. I hardly keep my cell plugged all through the night, I keep it ON though.
@Roseo8 (2947)
• India
19 Dec 08
well Mimpi I am not much of an expert when it comes to handling these gadgets.All I know is if they are kept switched on for long hours they lead to bigger electricity bills,,especially the AC.Cell pones have to be kepy on the whole day of course,but it is said you have to charge them at the right time,for a greater shelf life.And worst of all is these if gadgets are not swtiched on at all for long periods of time then they have a tendency to ignore our commands..........!!!
@sumeghagupta (214)
• India
19 Dec 08
obviously there is problem to leave the electronic device or appliances keep them on althrough the day, it should damage your system, waste the electricity or sometime fear of short circuit
@celebratelifeh (1142)
• China
19 Dec 08
yes ofcourse it does, once the machine was plugged on, it start working and as far as i know, all the electric machine are have it own uselife. after the limitted uselife gone out, it will out of work. and it will waste your electric since you didn't use it acutly, so...plug it off once you don't use it.
@paulj0s3ph (77)
• Philippines
19 Dec 08
sleep mode on these devices still absorbs power or electricity. maybe for a day or two you can let it stay that way
but its still best to just turn it off since your not using it.
@mimpi1911 (25464)
• India
19 Dec 08
That makes much sense Paul. And the analogical reference to a CAR was just apt.
@kapil_poundarik (960)
• India
26 Dec 08
if u on any electrical appliance for a log time it may get too hot and due to heating effect the wire's inside it may break down and the u r gadget may not work.but if u r taking of computers u can on u r computer for years only if u have a liquid col-lent that cols u r microprocessors faster that air.
@vishnu_badlapur (560)
• India
18 Dec 08
Keeping any gadget in sleep mode or stand by will consume power and for the battery, all the new gadgets can detect if the battery is fully charged or not and stop charging the battery even if the gadget is charged so do not worry about battery over-charging.
@derek_a (10874)
•
18 Dec 08
If I am not going to use my computer for several hours I always switch it off. I don't like electrical appliance left switched on as there is a risk of fire. I have been told to leave it switched because it will wear out more quickly, but I have had the one computer for several years now, where my friend has had 3 and he leaves his on all the time.. :-)Derek
@mimpi1911 (25464)
• India
19 Dec 08
That explains it all derek. But if we are working intermittently, its better to leave it ON. That saves battery life.
@mentalward (14690)
• United States
18 Dec 08
As for battery life, I couldn't tell you, but I know for a fact that they use more power than you realize when left on all night. Even TVs use power when they're off! You need to unplug them if you want them to stop wasting electricity.
Anything that is considered "instant on" is using energy even when they are off but plugged in. If you unplugged everything before going to sleep at night, you could actually notice a drop in your electric bill!
@mimpi1911 (25464)
• India
19 Dec 08
Don't tell me!! I have been doing it all wrong. I have to change it completely..
@playmateshorty (365)
• United States
19 Dec 08
good question, i believe it does, but i sure hope not considering mine is always in use!
@Isabellas2007 (192)
• United States
19 Dec 08
I do not know if it affects the power or not, but I always turn mine off and only turn them back on when I need them. Not only that they draw power when even plugged in! So I obviously do not want to ahve them constantly draw power because power costs money!
@easterangel (139)
• Philippines
18 Dec 08
I think that with continuous use, the usual wear and tear will also affect your computer and its lifespan will shorten just like any other product out there. Of course electric bills also jack up.
It is good to turn the power off once in a while unless you use these things for work. In order to save electricity, some suggest you pull the plug completely but i have heard others say that this damages the electrical appliance.