saving electricity

My parents do this thing where they always unplug things and/or switch them off to save electricity. I know that some electronics are really bad about this, but I never knew whether my electronics were "good" or "bad."

I decided to find out for sure. I just got a "Kill A Watt" power meter. It costed me $19.77 after shipping and handling. Compared to my parents (and most of my friends) electricity is cheap. 4.61 cents per kWh including delivery. That ridiculously cheap - probably the cheapest 95% in the country and the cheapest 1% in the world. Still, I like data. (-:

Since getting home I've been testing all sorts of things. Mostly I've been testing various AC adapters and chargers for things like phones and such. I was happy to find that the chargers for the iPad/iPhone, Samsung Focus Windows Phone, and my Lenovo Thinkpad all drew zero current when they were idle. The older Energizer battery charger that I've been using drew 0.3W, and I've replaced it with the newer model that I had laying around which draws zero.

On to computers....

• My desktop computer (and peripherals) drew 18W when idle, and anywhere from 200-250W while in use. That computer will be shut down at the source - just like my parents. 432Wh saved per day, or about 10% of my power consumption.
• My laptop computer draws 55-95W when charging and running. About 20W less when at full charge. The screen brightness has an impact of 9W. This is all a lot more than I had expected.

On to the entertainment system.

• My HTPC draws 60-100W when running, but 0W when it's off. It used to draw 70W, but I changed some BIOS settings and now it idles at 10W less than before.
• The PS2 was drawing about 3W. It's now unplugged since I haven't used it in a very very long time.
• The XBox 360 draws about 3W when off, a steady 150W when running. 115W when it's "off" but downloading content. Lame. )-:
• The iHome cheapo clock radio draws 6W when idling and 8W when powered on. WTF?
• None of this is much compared to the 300W that the TV draws. Ouch. Thankfully it draws nothing when it's turned off. This is motivation for me to turn the TV off and use the other monitor in the kitchen.That'll save me a penny an hour. Ooooooh....

On appliances - the only appliance I really have is my fridge. It draws 93-120W when running. As for the microwave (which I never use), does it matter?