Battery Charger, Unplug it and Save Energy

Killowatt Report, how much electricity does a cordless drill battery charger use when it’s not charging batteries?

This comes under the new energy heading of Phantom power. Electricity cost have risen to the place that we need to be aware of every little drop of juice that we draw into our home. A new word for using electricity and not getting anything from it has been developed, not Phantom of the Opera, but Phantom of the Power Bill. With our appetite for electronics and the need to produce and distribute more clean and renewable power, the cost of juice is going to continue to rise. The Phantom is raising his ugly head.

This is a phantom power report: Raise your hand if you have a cordless drill charger plugged in somewhere.

One 18 volt cordless drill battery charger. Plugged in on standby waiting for a battery to charge. Calculated at 10 cents per kWh.

1 day - .0616 kWh

30 days – 1.85 kWh – 18.5 cents

1 year – 22.48 kWh – $2.48

Measuring the Phantom is easy with a Killowatt Monitor. There is a link to amazon.com on the detectenergy side bar that will allow you to purchase your own.

Stay tuned to Detect Energy for more killowatt results…with my savings, I might even leave the light on for you. Don