to think unplugging my laptop which is 80% charged will not save much carbon emissions - despite Octopus advising me to do it

[cakeorwine]

Just been switched to Octopus and setting it up.
There is a "helpful" Octopus saying "Hey, we've noticed that your device is 80% charged. Carbon emissions from electricity are currently high. Why not unplug it for a bit?"

I guess that it's suggesting I charge it again when emissions are low?

But it's a laptop - so not exactly using a lot of power to charge and also - if I unplug it, the power will go down, so I will have to use more energy to charge it up later.

I also think that once it's fully charged, it won't be using any more power except to maintain that charge level.

Yeah, I don't get it either. Surely it makes no difference as the battery will run down quicker and then you'll have to plug it in again sooner than if you left it to get to 100.

I am sure there might be more helpful tips coming along!!

Honestly, so much shit!!!

Im fed up with it and people advising to unplug everything before you go to bed!

You don’t need a laptop plugged in all the time as it’s bad for the battery too. I charge my work laptop in the evening and then use it without power until it drops quite low. That’s what the tech bar advised me and makes sense. They aren’t meant to have a constant power supply

Don't get me started on misinformation about "vampire" devices - as more and more devices have extremely low standby power.

Overnight, my flat runs on 33 watts .

That's different to saving carbon emissions though. Unless you have the whole life cycle of a battery.

And is that true about laptop and batteries?

Is It Bad to Keep My Laptop Plugged In All the Time? (howtogeek.com)

While businesses are pumping god knows what out & kim kardashian is taking her private plane everywhere there's no point us doing anything.

I assume it relates to the timing that you're charging. Some days/ times the grid is using mainly wind and solar power to generate electricity, some times it's mainly generated using gas. If you can avoid charging during the times it's using a higher proportion of gas, they will be able to reduce the amount of gas used overall

Lithium ion batteries should be kept between 20-80% to avoid charge cycling being repeated on the same cell over and over. This is the same if it’s a laptop, drill, car or any other Li-Ion device. Most modern laptops have a battery saving mode which does precisely this. Nothing to do with emissions though.

Well it's windless, cloudy day here

GB Fuel type power generation production (gridwatch.co.uk)

If I unplugged it, I will need to charge it at some point.

Currently using about 20 watts to charge. So not exactly a lot

Unplugging your laptop and rinsing out plastic bottles is going to do fuck all for the environment whilst the elite are using private jets & helicopter as their primary mode of transport. Just live your life.