Greetings - Decided to run a 'Kill-a-watt' on my AW charger overnight to see how many Watt Hours my watch consumed to charge up to full. In the morning it registered about .18Kwh, or 180Wh, which I thought was WAY more than the watch battery could store. The same test on my iPad Pro, from 0% to 100% wasn't even that much. So I unhooked the watch wore it all day but left the meter plugged into the USB block that has the watch charge dongle on it. That night, 24 hours later, it had consumed .350 Kwh or 350 Watt Hours! This is a (relative) huge amount of electricity that is presumably used, even when the watch is not on it 'charging'. I even thought maybe my USB block was faulty, so I unhooked the AW Charger dongle and just ran the USB block on the watt meter for a day and it registered 0 usage. So, ya. I pay $.24 per Kwh for electricity, so sure, it only adds up to a couple bucks a month. But I had no idea it was that much. Assuming my math is correct. So If that's how much the AW Dongle uses (when not even charging), how much electricity does an iPhone, AW, Ear bud inductive charging pad use, when not 'charging'? Anyone have any idea....
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
AW Charger using a ton of power when NOT charging?
- Thread starter mrderik
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Some wireless chargers only supply power when they detect a device on the charger. The watch apparently doesn’t. These phantom loads are a significant part of electric bills. Chargers, TVs, smart devices, they all add up.
I'd guess that the energy is going to the RF oscillator that allows the Watch to be charged wirelessly. Hard-cabled power bricks for iPhone, iPad, etc, don't need to radiate energy the way the wireless Watch puck does--there's nothing but DC going through the charging cable in those cases, and only when connected--so this is not an issue for them.
It's surprising that the oscillator would run constantly rather than when a Watch's presence is detected. It strikes me as a bit odd that a company as ostentatiously "green" as Apple wouldn't design-in some sort of auto-detect feature to preserve power. Is your charger an actual Apple product or a knock-off?
Meanwhile, you could unplug the charger or switch its AC socket off when not using.
It's surprising that the oscillator would run constantly rather than when a Watch's presence is detected. It strikes me as a bit odd that a company as ostentatiously "green" as Apple wouldn't design-in some sort of auto-detect feature to preserve power. Is your charger an actual Apple product or a knock-off?
Meanwhile, you could unplug the charger or switch its AC socket off when not using.
Just plugged two Apple Watch cables into a kill-a-watt. One is the new plastic charger and an older metal backed Apple Watch charger. Will report tomorrow night at 10.
I can test a 3rd party insignia charger next.
I can test a 3rd party insignia charger next.
12 hours 36 mins later --- I've got 2 Apple Watch chargers plugged into an Anker PowerPort 6 then plugged into an old school Kill-A-Watt (non lit up screen). One is an older metal back charger and the other is all white plastic.
0.00 KWHR. Please let me know if you want photos.
I'll test the Insignia one now.
It would have infuriated me knowing that these things were pulling 180-300 watts a day.
[automerge]1591293302[/automerge]
photos.app.goo.gl
Link to photos
Starting Insignia test now. --- Maybe something metallic was causing the Apple Watch charger to dissipate power?
0.00 KWHR. Please let me know if you want photos.
I'll test the Insignia one now.
It would have infuriated me knowing that these things were pulling 180-300 watts a day.
[automerge]1591293302[/automerge]
Apple Watch Charger Test 6-3-2020 · Thursday, Jun 4, 2020 ð¸
Shared album · Tap to view!
photos.app.goo.gl
Link to photos
Starting Insignia test now. --- Maybe something metallic was causing the Apple Watch charger to dissipate power?
Last edited:
>It strikes me as a bit odd that a company as ostentatiously "green" as Apple wouldn't design-in some sort of auto-detect feature to preserve power.
Exactly. And I thought about how many millions of these things are plugged in 24/7 and couldn't/can't believe this would be the case. Which is why I thought to bring it up here and see if was just something everyone but me knew about.
>Maybe something metallic was causing the Apple Watch charger to dissipate power?
Hmm, the puck does lie face down on the side table when the watch isn't on it. But it's a smooth laminate top on an Ethan Allen wood desk. So it's possible I suppose, but it would have, also, been using power with the watch on it, even though the watch was fully charged. Which would also be unfortunate, but not nearly as bad.
>plugged into an old school Kill-A-Watt (non lit up screen)
I am (also) using one of the original style Kill-A-Watt units without the battery backup or screen light. I also have a newer one, the EZ P3, so I'll try with that one as well.
I don't know if it matters, but I am using the puck that came with my AW Series 1 to charge my AW5. But I'll do the same test again tonight. And for comparison, put the AW5 puck on the newer kill-a-watt, and charge my AW1 with it. Pic to follow.
Exactly. And I thought about how many millions of these things are plugged in 24/7 and couldn't/can't believe this would be the case. Which is why I thought to bring it up here and see if was just something everyone but me knew about.
>Maybe something metallic was causing the Apple Watch charger to dissipate power?
Hmm, the puck does lie face down on the side table when the watch isn't on it. But it's a smooth laminate top on an Ethan Allen wood desk. So it's possible I suppose, but it would have, also, been using power with the watch on it, even though the watch was fully charged. Which would also be unfortunate, but not nearly as bad.
>plugged into an old school Kill-A-Watt (non lit up screen)
I am (also) using one of the original style Kill-A-Watt units without the battery backup or screen light. I also have a newer one, the EZ P3, so I'll try with that one as well.
I don't know if it matters, but I am using the puck that came with my AW Series 1 to charge my AW5. But I'll do the same test again tonight. And for comparison, put the AW5 puck on the newer kill-a-watt, and charge my AW1 with it. Pic to follow.
I look forward to your results.
Just to note: I didn't touch those Apple Watch pucks at all (I have 3 charging cables in the house for the AW).
Maybe that's the key?
I'll end my Insignia Apple Watch test tonight, then test my AW chargers for 12 hours but charge my watch on them and see if they turn off after done charging my watch. I'll do that test starting tonight.
Just to note: I didn't touch those Apple Watch pucks at all (I have 3 charging cables in the house for the AW).
Maybe that's the key?
I'll end my Insignia Apple Watch test tonight, then test my AW chargers for 12 hours but charge my watch on them and see if they turn off after done charging my watch. I'll do that test starting tonight.
This is the answer if you're worried about minor current draw or as you say a "huge amount of electricity". You might want to unplug or switch power off to your TV at night because I bet it's using way more than that. Also turn off your wifi router and modem. Some people use power strips with switches for this reason. They turn everything off at night
Anyone that switches their modem off every night is going to end up with a pretty rubbish internet connection.
The ISP will interpret every interruption as a problem on the line and adjust the speed accordingly.
MY AW5 charged up in a few hours last night, then I unplugged over night and in the morning the Kill-a-watt registered 630wh used and was still slowly climbing. I had put the AW1 on the AW5 puck, on the newer Kill-a-watt, overnight as well. It charged fine but in the morning that meter showed 0 Kwh used. So I give up.
I'm just going to assume it's either a problem with my (older) Kill-a-Watt or, more likely, the draw is so low that it just doesn't register properly on either one. So maybe the puck(s) do use power when not charging, or maybe not. But if it bugs me that much, I'll just unplug it when not in use...
I'm just going to assume it's either a problem with my (older) Kill-a-Watt or, more likely, the draw is so low that it just doesn't register properly on either one. So maybe the puck(s) do use power when not charging, or maybe not. But if it bugs me that much, I'll just unplug it when not in use...
Dang! That is absolutely amazing! That will add up over time (every day for a year).
I tested the Insignia AW charger last night - charged my watch on it last night. I also plugged in my AW charger and charged my apple watch this morning - still 0.00kWh.
That's crazy. Thanks for taking the time to post your results. This was fun.
I tested the Insignia AW charger last night - charged my watch on it last night. I also plugged in my AW charger and charged my apple watch this morning - still 0.00kWh.
That's crazy. Thanks for taking the time to post your results. This was fun.