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Short on sockets: why living in an old apartment building is stopping me from saving electricity

22/9/2022

Translation: Katherine Martin

As much as I’d like to take my TV, computer and other devices out of standby mode, it’d only cause issues. Here are three of them.

256 euros. Two hundred and fifty-six. That’s how much Hamburg’s city-owned utility company wants me to cough up on top of last year’s bill. And because energy costs are currently skyrocketing, my monthly payment has been bumped up from 40 to 62 euros. That’s an increase of around 55 per cent. Granted, that’s not horrendously high compared to the 263 per cent due in Oberlunkhofen, a municipality in Aargau, Switzerland. Nevertheless, it’s a bummer.

Spoiler alert: I’m going to be using the word «power strip» a lot in this article. Which brings us to the heart of the problem.

After all, turning off devices in standby mode – the solution hailed as a magic bullet for high electricity costs – is just not possible at my place. Why? Because I live in an old apartment building, so by definition, my flat has very few sockets. Between the living room, bedroom, kitchen and hallway, my place has just twelve power outlets. Not only that, but many of the plug sockets I do have in my Hamburg flat are so inconveniently placed that I need multiple extension cables and socket strips to power all my devices. That’s a joke in comparison to my last place – a two-room apartment in a newbuild in Munich. It had seven power outlets in the kitchen alone, and four in the bathroom.

That’s why all possible electrical appliances at my place are hooked up to socket strips. And it’s for precisely this reason that I can’t use extension leads with an on-off switch, because doing so would catapult me into the Stone Age. These days, you can even get app-operated ones (link in German). Pity I’ve no use for them.

Three rooms, not enough plugs

Let’s take the kitchen. It has one socket, and therefore one power strip connected to my fridge, microwave, washing machine, kettle and a lamp. Turning off the power strip would knock out the power to my fridge. Aside from the fact that this kind of set-up would cause anyone with electrical expertise to break out in a sweat, I just don’t want my cheese and oat milk to go off. Unplugging individual appliances doesn’t work either. Since the power strip is hooked up behind the fridge to save space, I just can’t reach it.

If power to the router is cut off, it takes 15 minutes to reboot. That is, if it manages to reboot at all.

Let’s move on to my working-from-home set-up. In the cosy teleworking spot I’ve set up at home, I’m faced with the same problem: not enough sockets. Beside my desk, there’s a power strip for my computer and – importantly – the router. Although there are apparently folks out there who turn off their internet at night, my extension lead has to stay running 24/7. That’s because my router was a freebie from my internet provider – and I’m grateful that it works at all. I’ve got pretty good at configuring the router myself when it freezes or reboots without warning, but I don’t need that kind of nerve-wracking action every day. As a result, the «never change a running system» principle applies at my workspace.

Last but not least: the living room. An extension lead under the TV unit hosts the TV, my Nintendo Switch and a floor lamp. Now you’re thinking: «But you could definitely use a power strip with an off switch there». Yep, I thought the same thing. Until I realised that my TV sometimes loses its channel settings when I disconnect it. Sounds strange, but it’s true. This would also leave my Switch without power, and the controller wouldn’t charge. This in turn would hold me back from setting a new Mario Kart track record.

Unfortunately, plugging one extension lead into another to create a homemade series circuit that can be partly switched off isn’t a solution. Doing that can overload the power strip and cause a smouldering fire (linked article in German). That’s why the DIN standard VDE 0620 dictates that power strips have to be marked with a «Must not be plugged into one another» warning.

The only alternative would be a power strip with sockets that can be switched on and off individually. However, they’re design monstrosities and not exactly cheap. I’d need at least four for my whole apartment.

Socket strips

Hama socket strip

6 x, CEE 7/3, 1.40 m

Too bad. I guess I’ll have to do my bit to save energy in some other way. Maybe I’ll just turn the heating down a couple of degrees.

Do you have the same issue? If so, what are you doing about it? I’d love to hear your tips!

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Anika Schulz

Teamleader Editorial

Anika.Schulz@galaxus.de

As a child, I was socialised with Mario Kart on the SNES before I ended up in journalism after graduating from high school. As a team leader at Galaxus, I'm responsible for news. Trekkie and engineer.

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