Unplugging devices from the wall

This topic really falls under the "everything and anything" category 😁

I recently picked up one of those power strips equipped with an on/off switch. I have my TV, a cable box, and a DVD player all plugged into it. Naturally, I never actually turn the TV or the cable box off; they just sit there in standby mode indefinitely. Since I now have this convenient little switch at my fingertips, I decided to be a bit more conscientious about my electricity usage, so I’ve started frequently cutting the power to the entire strip via the switch—primarily because even devices idling in standby consume a measurable amount of juice.
Now, I find myself wondering: could this habit actually be detrimental to my electronics? Should I be worried that the sudden interruption might cause some sort of electrical shock to the components and lead to a premature death for my gear, or should I simply disregard such concerns and keep flipping the switch?
For instance, the moment I flip the strip back on, the cable box boots up immediately.
Is my anxiety justified here, or am I just overthinking things? 🙂

On a side note, do any of you actually shut down these kinds of devices just to save a few cents on the utility bill?

It’s really only an issue during lightning storms or if there's some serious voltage instability. Or, you know, if I'm heading out for a long stretch and want to leave the apartment empty. When it's just sitting in standby mode, the power draw is practically nothing.
The surge is basically the same kind of kick you get when you plug an appliance into a wall outlet, so it shouldn't be any cause for concern.

placidjackal36 said:Only during lightning storms or if there's some serious voltage instability. Or honestly, just whenever I'm heading out of the house for an extended period. The power draw in standby mode is practically negligible.
The surge is basically the same as when you plug a device into the wall, so it shouldn't be an issue at all.

I haven't actually made a habit of doing that myself, but since it’s a room I barely spend any time in—sometimes I'm only there for maybe two days a month—it makes sense to do it.
Plus, I've heard plenty of people swear by the idea that it really does save on the electric bill.

Once you actually sit down and realize that having two TVs, a receiver, a media player, and a handful of chargers plugged in all night long is basically leaving the house on standby mode, you see how much money you're just throwing away on electricity.

The average power draw for most devices in standby mode sits right around 1.2 to 3 watts. You rarely see anything creeping past 10 watts, and honestly, if it hits that level, it’s overkill. These days, the standard is supposed to be under 1 watt. I make sure my apartment doesn't pull more than 10 watts total in standby—and even that feels like a stretch to me. That means my whole place is probably idling at about 6 watts. Over a month, that adds up to 180 watt-hours, which is 2,160 watt-hours a year, or 2.16 kilowatt-hours annually.

So, 2 kilowatt-hours per year. That’s basically what it takes to run an electric heater for one hour. It's pathetic.

placidjackal36 said:Two kilowatt-hours per year. That is the equivalent of running an electric heater for one hour. Pathetic.

It might seem pathetic to you as an individual, but try multiplying that by the entire Chinese population and see how it looks then.😁
Or do you think they are all still living on vouchers?😁

Harold Perez11 said:Look, maybe to you, sitting there all by yourself, it feels like total misery. But go ahead—do the math. Take that number and multiply it by the sheer volume of Chinese people out there, and then let's see how that actually shakes out.😁
You really think they’re still running on fumes?😁

That works out to about 2.16 terawatt-hours a year if you just go by the math of one Chinese person per household.
If you take a standard average—say, a typical household consisting of a mother, a father, and one kid—you’re looking at roughly 0.72 terawatt-hours per year.

I was just thinking about that nuclear plant over in that small town in the US. It’s funny how people react when you bring up nuclear energy. You get one side screaming about safety risks and the other side acting like it's some kind of magic wand that'll solve everything overnight. In reality, it's a bit more complicated than that, isn't it? It’s about balancing the grid, managing long-term waste, and deciding if we actually have the stomach for the infrastructure required to run something that massive. It’s not just a matter of flipping a switch; it’s a decades-long commitment to a specific type of power. Just like any other major utility project, there are always going to be people who love it and people who want to tear it down. June 2009. That plant pumped out nearly 500 gigawatts of electricity. To put that in perspective, we're talking half a terawatt.
So, if we’re looking at the averages and assuming that whole situation with China is actually accurate, it basically means that every single household in China... Annual. It’s honestly pretty pointless to sit here and try to calculate exactly how much energy one and a half nuclear reactors would pump out. It’s just an endless math problem that doesn't really get us anywhere. June This year.
We’re still talking about peanuts here. In the grand scheme of global energy, this amount is practically invisible. Even if you scaled it up to cover the entire planet, it would still be a drop in the bucket.

placidjackal36 said:That would be about 2.16 terawatt-hours annually if we just went by the logic of "one household equals one Chinese person."
If we take a more realistic average—say, a mother, a father, and one child—we’re looking at roughly 0.72 terawatt-hours per year.

Back in June 2009, a nuclear plant in a small town in the US Midwest produced nearly 500 gigawatt-hours of electricity. That’s half a terawatt.
So, if we assume the math regarding China is actually correct, it means all those households in China collectively waste an amount of energy every year that is equal to what one and a half nuclear plants produced back in June of this year.
Even when you look at it that way, it's still such a tiny amount... honestly, it's almost insignificant when you consider the scale of global energy needs. Even if we multiplied it out to represent the entire planet, it still feels relatively small...

I mean, look at how we're handling these numbers🤣