The second tl;dr : TVs eat up electricity when plugged in but off so that they can turn on in mere seconds. The US Department of Energy is really overstating how much leaving stuff plugged in is costing us (according to devices that track how many watts something uses per hour). However, when you consider that it's thinking about 300 million Americans, it really does add up.
Cheese and Rice, I saw this ad in China (yes, China) saying that tons of electricity is wasted if you leave cell phone chargers plugged in but not charging your cell phone. Since then I've spent the extra effort unplugging my cell phone charger and DS charger. It's actually pretty difficult because the outlet I use at home is pretty sticky and behind a lot of shit (wait, I should just move that stuff!)
The extra bit of difficulty comes from the fact that I (and probably everyone that's reading this post) is currently in their parent's home and doesn't have to pay their share of the electricity bill.
Or, if not, are spending their time in college and definitely don't have to pay the electricity bill.
With that kind of environment (no pun intended) there's really no incentive to turn the Xbox off when you're not using it blah blah blah here let's just paste some things.
I am an electrical engineer, so I'll give you some insight on why products use "phantom power".
Most modern electronics use low-voltage DC power internally, but a wall outlet supplies higher-voltage AC power. A converter is required, and these are inefficient and usually never turn off, especially if it is an external "brick". Another issue is that if the device has internal memory or a clock, these require a trickle of power. Many electronics could be designed to use no energy at all when turned off, so if consumers start demanding it, we can vote with our dollars.
Simple appliances such as light bulbs, vacuum cleaners, toasters, and simple ovens without a clock use absolutley no energy when they are plugged in but turned off.
Many appliances like microwaves and coffee makers use very little energy when plugged in, but turned off. Around 10 cents/month maximum.
The biggest offenders are devices with external "bricks" (which run about 3-5 Watts when turned off) and high-wattage electronics such as stereos and computers (which run up to 20 Watts unplugged). Leaving a computer plugged in could cost you up to $1.50 a month even if you never turn it on.
The statistic on the DOE page that states "75% of our energy is used by devices that our switched off" is absolutely false. The real number is closer to 5%.
For more info, check out this person's fact-checking
Ramdonperson: That link is AMAZING. Another link: http://www1.eere.energy.gov/consumer/tips/home_office.html says
"There is a common misconception that screen savers reduce energy use by monitors; they do not. Automatic switching to sleep mode or manually turning monitors off is always the better energy-saving strategy."
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