I have been watching my favorite shows online at places like Hulu for a while now. I also get movies on my computer so I have not been watching too much television.
I just realized that I went four days without turning the televsion on at all. I know that having a plugged in television is an electricity vampire so I am wondering if I should just unplug it totally and then plug it back in when I am ready to watch television again.
Of course this would be yet another small way to save money and the few cents from the energy drain will add up in the future. The con to this is that I have to walk over to the corner to plug in the television each time I need to watch something.
What do YOU think?
Definitely unplug the TV. If you watch everything on the Internet, unplug your TV for one whole month and then the following month check out your electric bill. I am sure you will see a big difference. Good Luck!
There are a couple of shows that I have not been able to get on the internet (I guess I am not looking hard enough) but stuff like CSI (all three) and Heroes I can get online so I usually don’t watch them at the regular time and then have a marathon on the internet.
I say don’t get rid of your television. We all know how funny computers can be, especially during bad weather.
Unplug it!
Those few extra steps to plug it back in may be enough to remind you that there is nothing on worth watching any way. Or you can save yourself from that gym membership, you could just plug and unplug your tv.
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I have unplugged and yes it is a hassle to go back and plug it in. To add to the fun, the batteries in my universal remote went out and I forgot the code (and threw away the book) so I have to walk to the tv to change the channels. Old school!!!!
I think it might be a great idea if you think about how much you can save when you don’t watch telly for 1 full year ie 365 days a year. Assuming you watch it every day and it cost 10 cents/day. I wouldn’t advice you to cut it completely but you are more relaxed when watching telly than viewing it online.
You know your pocket better..
I don’t want to NOT watch television for a whole year. Waaaaaah!
I know that the savings add up but I am not dirt starving poor so that is why I guess I have not completely cut it off. If I lost my job then I guess I would think about something like that.
I think right now I am watching about three nights a week in all and for about one hour each time.
Have you considered getting one of those energy-saving power strips? You can plug your TV, DVD player, stereo, etc. into and flip off the switch when you don’t need them. Then to turn them back on, just flip the switch again.
I’m not sure what the difference in energy costs is, but it should be cheaper than having the appliances plugged in all the time, and more convenient than re-plugging them all in when you need them.
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Our television isn’t ours. Neither is the DVD player. It belongs to my landlord. Both are still plugged in.
Whether the TV is plugged in or not is irrelevant to me. But having a TV can definitely hurt your earning potential — it steals time that could be used for something productive.
In our last house, we got rid of our TV, DVD player, and VCR. In the past 10 years, I’ve had TV channels for about 2 years. The rest of the time, just static.
I’m not very fond of TV. My wife and I do watch some shows/movies through Netflix on our computer, and I enjoy that. But it’s on our schedule, after the kids are in bed.
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Definitely unplug it. You would notice a relatively siginificant reduction in your bill. Plugged appliances, regardless whether you are using them or not, still consumes electricity.
If you want to save yourself money, it would be a great idea to unplug it.
But for myself, i like my TV and I would rather save money else where.
Let me know if you end up unplugging it for a month or so. My big screen TV died three weeks ago (which was a big power sucker), although I didn’t use it too terribly much. I moved my cable box over to one of my computer monitors so I can still watch TV. Same for the Xbox. But each monitor uses 1/3 the power that the TV did, so I am wondering if that will lower my electric bill any.
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Well folks so far I have done the plug and unplug dance since I watched Heroes on Monday and plan to watch NCIS tonight.
That just struck me as utterly ridiculous since both of those shows are on my feed and can be watched online.
I guess I will try the total unplug thing……starting tomorrow. We will see how long that lasts.
I would say that you should unplug the tv and also consider canceling television service altogether. We don’t have television service, just public access. I don’t need to watch any of the shows I watched before because I have other things to do, and if I really want to, I can watch most of them online.
I’m curious, since this is an old post, what you decided to do and what the results were.
Naughty me…I keep unplugging it but then plugging it back in to watch Heroes on Mondays and NCIS on Tuesdays. 🙁
Hi Lulu, yes this is the article. I was drawn back to this post after having a quick read a couple of months ago. Did an entire search on Google but couldn’t remember the title. Glad to have seen it.
Thanks..Mon
Nice stuff! according to me that you should unplug the tv.
Would love to take the high road and say that I’ve given up TV in favor of more intellectual pursuits.
Not true though 🙂
I at least take solace that I spend more time on the History channel and other similar channels. I’m a war documentary junkie.
Also a sucker for “Big Love” though, which means I’m paying for premium tv.
Ah well, we all have our vices, right?
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Nice Post. thanks for sharing the info. I think you should definitely unplug the TV.
Great post. Thanks for sharing information. its really useful.
very Nice stuff! according to me that you should unplug the tv.
You would notice a relatively siginificant reduction in your bill. Plugged appliances, regardless whether you are using them or not, still consumes electricity…
Very Nice stuff indeed! according to me that you should unplug the tv.
That’s a great idea. I have actually been using HULU for most things and its just working out pretty good, I only have time to watch certain series on TV so.
It’s a good idea but what if the plug is right behind the tv?
Unplugging would save you a bit, but do what I do, and make your own solar panels and a windmill. You would do it a little at a time, and eventually be providing your own power to your house. Also, if you have more power than you use, you can sell that power to your local electric company, or get reimbursed. Great for all… your budget, and the environment.
You don’t have to unplug the computer or the TV. Just plug all the cords into a power strip and then flip the switch on the power strip whenever you’re not using the TV. Flipping off the power strip switch is the exact same as unplugging it, but I find it much more convenient.
Well I cancelled my cable this month so the television is unplugged anyway as I don’t get enough channels without an antenna. So far so good.
Yes, you should disconnect the television
My wife and I watch only public access TV and our DVD’s. We don’t feel any loss at all for not having cable, and I’m not a sports junkie either. I think TV is more of just a habit than anything else.
You don’t have to unplug the computer or the TV. Just plug all the cords into a power strip and then flip the switch on the power strip whenever you’re not using the TV. Flipping off the power strip switch is the exact same as unplugging it, but I find it much more convenient.
Hey there, I just thought you’d like to know that your blog’s layout is all messed up in Avant (browser) for some reason. You might want to check out your HTML code. -Philip
Thanks for letting me know. I will get someone to look at it as soon as possible.