General knowledge / electricity questions

Nitefly

Nitefly

Nitefly

Man of Honour
Joined
24 Sep 2005
Posts
37,457
Sometimes you know things, other times you don't. This time I don't. So don't laugh, yo! :o

I have a question, or rather a series of questions about electricity, regarding how much electricity an appliance might use at any given time. Nothing too complicated, fear not - I'm hoping to plug (:o) a missing gap in my knowledge.

I'll run it as a series of questions, the first two which I presume I know the answer to, but I would appreciate clarification. The last one I honestly don't have a clue about:

-If a plug switch is turned on, but there is nothing plugged into it, does it consume electricity?


-If a 4 way adapter (with no switches - the adapter's sockets are always on) is plugged into a plug socket (switched on), does that waste any electricity, even if no other appliances are plugged in to the adapter?


-My ipod, running from its battery, is plugged into my speaker system. The speakers are plugged into the mains (on) and are at full volume. Does a change in volume on the ipod change the amount of electricity being used from the mains?


Thanks :)
 
- no! :confused:

- no! :confused:

- yes, as the amplifier in the speakers will be amplifying the slightly higher signal from the ipod, at the same ratio as before, resulting in increased power consumption. You cannot get louder music for nothing :p
 
Voltar said:
Looks like I shall be learning more than one thing today :)
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Reading the thread on the same page as this one, and this reply. I feel that there is an injustice that you can afford a 355 spider given these few posts alone :(
 
Jez said:
- no! :confused:

- no! :confused:
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More clarification would be appreciated if possible!

- yes, as the amplifier in the speakers will be amplifying the slightly higher signal from the ipod, at the same ratio as before, resulting in increased power consumption. You cannot get louder music for nothing :p
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So how does that work, in more detail? I have trouble visualising how turning the volume higher on the ipod, thus not turning any dial on the speakers, that more electricity can flow from the mains.

Many thanks :)
 
Jez said:
Reading the thread on the same page as this one, and this reply. I feel that there is an injustice that you can afford a 355 spider given these few posts alone :(
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Sometimes people just don't know things that others consider incredibly obvious. It doesn't mean they are stupid, just that they might not finish Trivial Pursuit so quickly :)

Doctor_Zhivago said:
Computers use 5w of power just being plugged in with the switch on. 5w is enough to light up the moon with LEDs for 0.0001 second
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Errr, thanks :p
 
Standard Sky boxes use something like 25W turned on and about 23W in standby. Maybe it's more down to these companies to ensure thier products do the least possible in standby.

... but I am sure that's easier said than done.
 
Nitefly said:
More clarification would be appreciated if possible!
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It doesn't use any electricity for the same reason the wires in your wall don't use any. There's nothing drawing a current. Unless your extension has some kind of power light indicator, in which case it will use a little bit.
 
Nitefly said:
-If a plug switch is turned on, but there is nothing plugged into it, does it consume electricity?
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No. There is no current drawn, as there is no path between live and neutral/earth.

Nitefly said:
-If a 4 way adapter (with no switches - the adapter's sockets are always on) is plugged into a plug socket (switched on), does that waste any electricity, even if no other appliances are plugged in to the adapter?
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No, for the same reason as above. Or possibly a tiny amount if your adapter has some form of LED indication to show that it is connected.


Nitefly said:
-My ipod, running from its battery, is plugged into my speaker system. The speakers are plugged into the mains (on) and are at full volume. Does a change in volume on the ipod change the amount of electricity being used from the mains?
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I disagree with Jez here. If your ipod is running from battery then changing the volume on the ipod changes the rate at which the battery is discharged. The higher the volume, the more power is drawn from the battery and the faster the discharge rate. Assuming your speakers stay at constant volume then the current drawn by the speakers from the mains will stay roughly the same. There may be a small change, but it will be negligible imo.
 
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Nitefly said:
-If a plug switch is turned on, but there is nothing plugged into it, does it consume electricity?
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Nope
Nitefly said:
-If a 4 way adapter (with no switches - the adapter's sockets are always on) is plugged into a plug socket (switched on), does that waste any electricity, even if no other appliances are plugged in to the adapter?
Click to expand...
Nope
Nitefly said:
-My ipod, running from its battery, is plugged into my speaker system. The speakers are plugged into the mains (on) and are at full volume. Does a change in volume on the ipod change the amount of electricity being used from the mains?
Click to expand...
Yep
 
Jez said:
Reading the thread on the same page as this one, and this reply. I feel that there is an injustice that you can afford a 355 spider given these few posts alone :(
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I don't do science or maths and am not a computer-knowledge type of person. OcUK is very good at solving very quick questions and not making you feel embarrassed for not knowing the answer. I had a quick query, which was answered and I appreciated the help.

I'm a specialist in the arts and literary subjects. I don't take your post as an insult.

Also I'm flattered you think I own a 355: it's my favourite car :)
 
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