Android smartphone turned on or off at night?

Hardware
42

Hi Rosika,
I’m glad I was able to help, but as I said before, it’s just my opinion. :wink:

Jorge

43

Hi Neville,
There are two reasons why I said that:

  • The components of electronic equipment have a lifespan and within the same model of component, there are variations in quality depending on the companies that manufacture them or the use for which they are intended, for example, whether they are for consumer electronics equipment, professional equipment or, for example, aerospace engineering.
    Smartphone chargers use consumer electronics components and one of the components used in these power supplies that causes a lot of problems is the electrolytic capacitors, which, to put it very simply, “wear out” (lose capacity).
    I wrote this about TV power supplies: “For me, putting the TV in standby mode is ‘the lesser bad of all bad things’.”, but my opinion about smartphone chargers is different: the less time they are plugged in, the longer they last, because the chargers are extremely small, with little or no heat dissipation and the chargers are closed, there is no ventilation possible for cooling and some of them have poor quality components, well, I’ll put it another way so as not to be so negative: there are chargers with better quality components than other chargers. We notice this type of capacitor failure when, for example, the charger gets hotter than usual and/or takes longer to charge than usual. What I’ve written is very basic, but here’s a more technical link to what I’m talking about:
    Electronic capacitor lifetime in power supplies

  • The charger doesn’t have a standby function to reduce the electrical consumption of the device, although it does have a power control and there may be some discussion on the subject because some may say that the device is in a pseudo standby state when the smartphone is not connected. The annual electricity wasted may not be much, but if there are 2, 3 or 4 people in the house, each with their own charger connected 24/7, we’re probably starting to see some significant energy value.

About fire risk…
I’d like to believe that all chargers sold in the European Economic Area, with the CE Mark, are certified and have the appropriate electrical protections…
The CE Mark gives a false sense if security

Please note: I’m only talking about chargers, not any faults that the equipment may have which could cause the chargers to overheat or take longer to charge.

Jorge

1 Like
44

Here is an article from PC World with regard to laptops.

Is it bad to leave your laptop always plugged in? | PCWorld

I treat all these things as tools. A phone, a laptop, an electric drill or toothbrush. I use it as such and when the battery wears out I will replace it. I try not to abuse the device by leaving a phone or laptop in direct sunlight or a hot car, but I don’t get all bent out of shape when my laptop charges all day long (for the most part).

I do try to make sure any chargers for phones and other devices are unplugged when not in use. They must consume some amount of electricity and “waste not, want not” right?

2 Likes
45

With 40 solar panels on the roof, I leave most everything plugged in all the time. 1MWh last month.

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46

Here’s another article countering the earlier one.

Why you shouldn’t charge your phone overnight (dagens.com)

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47

Hi @pdecker :

thanks for providing the link to the article.
I´ve read it through and what the author says makes sense.

I don´t charge overnight and especially not when not being able to monitor the phone.
As far as charging is concerned I´m doing it the right way, I hope. :wink: .

Thanks again and many greetings

Rosika :slightly_smiling_face:

1 Like
48

Hi,
I found another article to share with you:
Battery and charging safety

If you’re curious about this subject, Google for “lithium-ion batteries burn fire explode” and see the results.

Jorge

1 Like
49

I keep mine charging, wirelessly, nearly all the time… I have one by my bedside, and one on my desk (and I take it with me when I go into the office)…

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50

Thanks, Jorge, for the link.
I read it through and, well, it´s informative, that´s for certain.

Let´s hope none of us will get in a situation like that… :neutral_face: .

Cheers from Rosika :slightly_smiling_face:

1 Like