Is it a sin to leave your cell phone plugged in overnight?

Jared Atchison 13 Oct, 2009 at 10:51am ET Article published in Tech

Comments

1. 
   19 Oct 2009 ~ 3:13am DrLiam Yes. (Then clicks on article.)
   
   RETROSPECTIVE EDIT: I will still continue to unplug my electronics regardless.
2. 
   19 Oct 2009 ~ 3:24am Snarkasm Long story short: you're silly.
   
   The story I really want to see is if leaving things plugged in when unnecessary overnight harms the battery or lowers the charging threshold and discharge time over time.
3. 
   19 Oct 2009 ~ 3:33am DrLiam

   Snarkasm wrote:

   Long story short: you're silly.

   
   No way! There are 4 cell phones in my house and I still think it adds up to a significant amount. The addition of iPods, camera batteries, etc. would further the amount of power used overnight. So most of this power consumption can be avoided with an eco-friendly habit.
   

   Snarkasm wrote:

   The story I really want to see is if leaving things plugged in when unnecessary overnight harms the battery or lowers the charging threshold and discharge time over time.

   
   It definitely does. By how much and how quickly is the question.. so I agree, would make for an interesting article even though I'm sure if would vary from model to model
4. 
   20 Oct 2009 ~ 1:06am mas0n

   DrLiam wrote:

   It definitely does.

   
   [citation needed]
5. 
   20 Oct 2009 ~ 1:11am Thrax If your phone uses a Lithium Ion/Lithium Polymer battery, replace every instance of "laptop" in this link with "phone:"
   
   http://icrontic.com/forum/showpost.php?p=695654&postcount=3
6. 
   20 Oct 2009 ~ 1:26am fatcat when else ya gonna charge the cell cept for when ya sleeping?
   
   (remember I walk all day)
7. 
   20 Oct 2009 ~ 2:31am ardichoke Buy one of those cell phone charging solar cells off ThinkGeek and strap it to your back?
8. 
   20 Oct 2009 ~ 11:25am FelixDeSouze I plug my phone in overnight as I'm in work and the C902 battery aint great lol.
   
   Plus my laptop is always plugged in and I have a 2nd laptop which is on most of the time (that reminds me, I can fold with that.. Will get back into it lol)
9. 
   21 Oct 2009 ~ 7:31am Zuntar Thrax is right from what I've read and been told by the guys at my local cell store store.
   
   Most newer phones have smart circuitry to stop the charge at the appropriate level.
   Also, when in doubt fill er up, don't run your charge down to nothing.
10. 
    21 Oct 2009 ~ 8:36am AlexDeGruven

    Zuntar wrote:

    Thrax is right from what I've read and been told by the guys at my local cell store store.
    
    Most newer phones have smart circuitry to stop the charge at the appropriate level.
    Also, when in doubt fill er up, don't run your charge down to nothing.

    
    Because of the way Li-Ion cells work, they all have smart charging circuitry built-in. It's a necessity. The thing that kills Li-ion batteries is a continual plugging and unplugging, which constantly starts and stops the charging process. My FIL killed the battery in his lappy in less than a year, because he's a cheap-ass and turns off the wall switch that powers his power brick EVERY TIME HE STOPS USING IT, which means the battery got cycled between 15-20 times per day.
    
    Now, because he saved $4 in electricity, he had to spend $150 on a new battery.
11. 
    22 Oct 2009 ~ 8:25am Shorty I charge my work Blackberry and my personal iPhone overnight due to my working lifestyle. I am rarely sat a desk long enough to keep either device attached to a charger.
12. 
    25 Oct 2009 ~ 11:01am danball1976 I generally leave everything plugged in, viewing this website, it really doesn't matter if you leave a couple chargers plugged in. All your saving it perhaps less than a $1 for the entire year. My parents on the other hand unplug everything. The laptop, their microwave, all chargers, and I think they unplug the TV as well.
    
    I'm not sure the constant unplugging is causing their microwave inverter (its a Panasonic microwave) to start failing and causing a bit of arcing at the beginning of the cook cycle because of that. But my Dad thinks unplugging everything saves a lot of money every month. What's saving them money is keeping the AC at 82 during the day and 85 at night, and the heater at 68 during the day and 60 at night.
13. 
    25 Oct 2009 ~ 12:46pm AlexDeGruven heh, that's so true. We had such a mild summer up here, we didn't use the AC at all between the end of June and the middle of August, essentially. Just left the windows open at night, and closed them when we left in the morning. By the time we got home in the afternoon, the house was pretty warm, but it was so nice outside, we didn't spend too much time inside, anyway. Just opened the windows and went back outside.
    
    Our combined energy bill for July and August (2 months, both gas and electric) was $98. On an 1800sqft house with a full basement. 3 computers running full-time, and no extra accessories unplugged (Microwave, TV, etc).