This way you prevent a mobile phone or laptop from setting the house on fire

Do you plug in your mobile devices at night? As more and more cost and environmental conscious people use their smartphones, laptops, etc. for as long as possible and the second-hand hardware trade is also booming, it is appropriate to recall a few points.

Where’s the problem?

There are several. But also solutions (more on that below).

1. The residual security risk

Lithium-ion batteries can catch fire. This rarely happens, but it does happen from time to time. Especially with older and old mobile devices. And unexpected.

The incident took place earlier this year at an apartment in Cincinnati, US, and was captured by a private security camera. The iPhone 4 was charging on the kitchen table when it suddenly caught fire. The whole family was asleep and did not notice the fire, as the mother told an American TV channel:

2. Unnecessarily long charging

If a mobile device is charged overnight, it is unnecessarily connected to the socket or the mains for an unnecessarily long time. If you do this regularly, it can take three to four months over the course of the year. Modern chips ensure that the connected devices are not “overloaded”. But while manufacturers are (probably) doing their best, battery capacity inevitably decreases.

Incidentally, charging cables also consume power when no device is connected. Although the amount of electricity consumed is relatively small, it adds up over the course of the year.

If the charging cable is plugged in for several hours a day (even without a mobile device), it consumes an estimated 2.5 kilowatt hours (kWh) per year.

This is little for the individual, but it comes down to entire societies. And in view of the impending climate catastrophe and the switch to renewable energy, every kWh saved is worth it.

3. One cable for everything

From 2024, USB-C charging cables will be required by law in Europe and then Apple’s extra sausage, or rather the original Lightning connector, will be over.

However, not all charging cables are the same. Cheap products from China increase the risk of fire. The “Kassensturz” reported in early 2022 that some mobile phone plugs became hot during tests and consumed too much power.

If in the future all mobile devices can be connected via USB-C, the chance that defective plugs will cause problems will also increase.

how are you doing well

Very easy: Turn off the mobile device at nightdon’t just put it to sleep!

Switching off regularly extends the life of the device: charging while switched off protects the battery and loses capacity later.

Alternatively, you can charge the device during the day. And this should only be done with certified power supplies.

If you absolutely want to hang it on the charging cable at night and leave it there overnight, you’ll need to get one switchable radio connection purchase. For example, you can set the socket to remain switched off between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. In addition, you can also save electricity.

Of course there are also inexpensive power strips with rocker switches. But then you would have to remind yourself every evening to temporarily remove the part from the network.

If you have several chargers connected to a power strip, as is probably the case in many modern households, it’s definitely worth turning them off at night – or when they’re not being used. And this also eliminates the risk of a faulty charging adapter or a device setting the house on fire.

Sources