Do phone/laptop etc chargers keep charging once the phone is full?

salami1212 · 23 Apr 2009 at 17:30

Hi, just wondering.. when you charge a phone/laptop, once the phone/laptop is full, does it keep charging and using electricity?
cheers

MikeHunt79 · 23 Apr 2009 at 17:31

Nope, the don't carry on charging once the battery is full, but they will use electricity...

Dunks · 23 Apr 2009 at 17:38

MikeHunt79 said:
Nope, the don't carry on charging once the battery is full, but they will use electricity...

How can they use electricity if it's not charging?

vincent1989 · 23 Apr 2009 at 17:47

DunK1 said:
How can they use electricity if it's not charging?

-_- in thee case of a laptop the power then powers just the laptop instead of the battery...same with a phone...

LordSplodge · 23 Apr 2009 at 18:01

salami1212 said:
Hi, just wondering.. when you charge a phone/laptop, once the phone/laptop is full, does it keep charging and using electricity?
cheers

Yes and no but older ones will damage the battery if left on charge. Modern devices have logic boards to stop this.

DunK1 said:
How can they use electricity if it's not charging?

It uses electricity to power the transformer that steps the voltage down.

Dunks · 23 Apr 2009 at 18:10

vincent1989 said:
-_- in thee case of a laptop the power then powers just the laptop instead of the battery...same with a phone...

Myeah, dumb moment

MikeHunt79 · 23 Apr 2009 at 18:16

DunK1 said:
Myeah, dumb moment

Ha, I've seen far worse on here...

malef!c · 23 Apr 2009 at 18:19

DunK1 said:
How can they use electricity if it's not charging?

and the LED on the power block glowing all night - pennies down the drain I tell ya!

MikeHunt79 · 23 Apr 2009 at 18:25

malef!c said:
and the LED on the power block glowing all night - pennies down the drain I tell ya!

A normal LED uses around 0.05w, so it would have to be on constantly for over 4 years to use the same amount of power a kettle uses in 1 minute! (Boring but true!)

TheVoice · 23 Apr 2009 at 18:29

I've got one of those power monitors, and my mobile phone charger doesn't even register on it (whether it's charging or not). Laptop charger uses about 30W when it's being used, but nothing when it's not charging.

FrostedNipple · 23 Apr 2009 at 18:30

It's the transformer that uses the electricity not the led

There is no need to ever switch off a charge though. Pointless, because the emount of electricity it uses when idle is so tiny it might as well be 0. But of course to save the planet the government will tell you to switch it off.