I was just thinking if you are on your computer anyway would it just use some of the excess electricity that your computer would have wasted or would it be worse than charging your phone from a charger while using your laptop separately.
I was just thinking if you are on your computer anyway would it just use some of the excess electricity that your computer would have wasted or would it be worse than charging your phone from a charger while using your laptop separately.
Vampire effect was a real problem with older transformer-based wall warts. If you still have one that feels heavy and solid, or has a fixed energy rating on the label, this is you
If it feels light, almost empty, or the label has a wide range of frequencies and voltages, it uses an order of magnitude less and really doesn’t add up anymore. I believe it’s something like a couple cents per year.
Edit: found something from 14 years ago calculating the worst case scenario of leaving a wall wart plugged in as 7¢/month but I don’t believe it’s anywhere near that expensive for a modern one …. Although it’s probably more telling that I didn’t find anything more recent with a price estimate.