Plugged in Charger.....

[RichManitoba]

I'm sure this has been discussed, but I couldn't find it.

I always leave my chargers plugged in when not charging my phone or tablet. My wife unplugs hers saying it's wasting energy. I have chargers plugged into a surge protector behind some furniture.

Google search shows opinions all over. How about facts?

My questions are,

• How can it draw power if nothing is connected to?
• Should I just unplug when not in use?

 

[mdram]

https://www.howtogeek.com/231886/tested-should-you-unplug-chargers-when-youre-not-using-them/

ventually—with six separate chargers plugged in—we arrived at a solid, measurable reading.


The total vampire power draw of our power strip, combined with chargers for an iPhone 6, iPad Air, MacBook Air (2013), Surface Pro 2, Samsung Chromebook, and a Nexus 7 measured a grand total of 0.3 watts.

 

[harshness]

How can it draw power if nothing is connected to?

Anything that doesn't have a switch on the AC side converts from AC to DC consumes power whether it use or not. There's a circuit that has to watch to see when something is connected. Not much, but not nothing.

Should I just unplug when not in use?

If it is placed somewhere inconvenient to plug and unplug, it isn't worth fiddling with.

If it isn't plugged in, it can't get zapped.

Lastly, in rare instances, wall warts can create a small amount of electrical noise.

 

[RichManitoba]

Thanks...... I win the bet!

 

[Foxbat]

If you have a switched wall outlet, you could use that. One thing I thought odd when I was overseas were the Mains switches on outlets, the idea being you switch off the AC power before unplugging the cord from the outlet. If you have a power strip with switch I would use that switch instead of unplugging the USB power bricks.