Do coffee makers etc. use electricity when off?

Dec 20, 2005 5 Replies

My girlfriend watched some show, I don't know which, & heard that thing like coffee makers & cordless kettles use electricity if they are plugged in, even if they're turned off. I know things like stereos need power for memory, or some coffee makers with timers need power for internal clocks, but do appliances like kettles & toasters still use electricity if they are off?



Chris


Not unless they have a clock or timer or some electronic control. If they have a standard rocker or toggle switch then turning the switch off turns it completely off.

Not unless they have somekind of timmer or clock in them. Then they will use a very small ammount to keep the clock going.

All electronic / electrical equipment will draw tiny amounts of current when plugged in, irrespective of whether they have timers or clocks or double pole isolating switches in them. This is due to leakage in suppression components connected across the supply, insulation leakage, and capacitive leakage, which any AC powered equipment will exhibit.

Obviously, we're not talking anything that your household electricity consumption meter is going to " see ", but never-the-less, enough to be measurable with sensitive test equipment.

Arfa

will

when

Sure they will. There is always some current being used. The resistance between the wires going from the wall socket to the device and across the switch insulation will use some current. Maybe a tenth to one microamp. Not really enough to call using electricity in a normal sense.

Now for your next answer, tell us how many rat droppings are in a 5 lb bag of flour. They are there , that is why most of it is bleached.

It depends on how it's turned on and off. I assume many newer ones use a relay and timer to shut it off after a certain amoutn of time so it doesn't start a fire. It depends on if the power switch directly switches the power or just tells some electronics to turn a relay on and off. You may need to take it apart to tell!

If there is a no_junk in my address, please REMOVE it before replying! All junk mail senders will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law!! http://home.att.net/~andyross

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