Thailand Unplugged?

[willyumiii]

Can anyone explain the reason so many Thai people unplug every electrical appliance when not in use?

In America, I worked both as a firefighter and for the largest utility company on the west coast. ( my job encompassed electrical caused fire prevention).

Fire hazards?

I don't see any, especially in a country where almost all homes are now built of fire proof cinder block, cement and tile.

Saving money/ electricity?

You may save a couple of baht per month by unplugging things with digital clocks or a "stand by mode", but the savings would be very small.

My Thai wife no longer unpluggs everything in the house every night, but.....

I work in an office where a number of extension cords are used to facilitate computers, printers, and other electric devices.

Every morning, not only are the extension cords unplugged from the duplex receptacles in the wall, but every device is also unplugged from the "power strip" extension cord and the power strip also switched off?

As stated above, with my experience in fire fighting, fire prevention and electrical utilities, I see no reason for the "precautions" many Thai people take with electricity.

Can anyone please enlighten me?

[FireMedic]

The reason I got was: the power is very bad in Thailand. Sometime the power comes too strong and can kaput everything or lightning comes near by and kaput everything......

I was a fireman in Florida for a long time. I can understand the lightning aspect during storms, but all the other stuff I just go with. I get yakked at all the time for leaving the coffee maker plugged in.

[South]

In America, I worked both as a firefighter and for the largest utility company ...........................

... but you have never been a Thai electrician! There lies there the reason.

Edited September 10, 2014 by South

[ATF]

Saves money or so they believe. Lots of Thais including and especially Bars unplug their fridges at night.

[willyumiii]

Saves money or so they believe. Lots of Thais including and especially Bars unplug their fridges at night.

Interesting....

I strongly suspect that it takes more electricity to get the refrigeration units down to working temperature in the morning than they save by not leaving them plugged in to maintain the same cool temperature at night!

Wonder if anyone has thought of noting the power used in a 24 hour period" plugged in" at night as apposed to a 24 hour period "unplugged" at night on their electric meter?

That;s just too logical....

Maybe the gremlins living in the spirit house are happier with no power at night??? 555

[DP25]

People think there will be power surges that cause fires or destroy appliances. Maybe it was a good idea back in the day, and now people were just raised to always unplug everything. From my experience it is more common to unplug everything with older people than with young people.

[thailiketoo]

I unplug because of advice I received on Thai Visa.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/751249-phone-charger-need-to-unplug/

[enuff said]

.

Almost all user manuals recommend unplugging the device when not in use. Certainly all counter top appliances, hair dryers, irons, chargers,etc.,etc, do.

I am surprised someone with such vast experience in the electrical field didn't know this.

'nuff said

~

[Kwasaki]

Saves money or so they believe. Lots of Thais including and especially Bars unplug their fridges at night.

Interesting....

I strongly suspect that it takes more electricity to get the refrigeration units down to working temperature in the morning than they save by not leaving them plugged in to maintain the same cool temperature at night!

Wonder if anyone has thought of noting the power used in a 24 hour period" plugged in" at night as apposed to a 24 hour period "unplugged" at night on their electric meter?

That;s just too logical....

Maybe the gremlins living in the spirit house are happier with no power at night??? 555

Most appliances say unplug when not in use.

Household fridge leave plugged in yes Ok and best to see it is earthed.

The large double door type of fridge my Mrs has in her cafe using less electric if she unplugs at night, no gremlins or pee, a fact.

[matimati]

Mornings standing next to kettle waiting for it to boil and it's not plugged in...also actually the red switch on the extention cable. Thinking that iPad is charging from a very low 1% can be an exercise in patience not to groan.

Edited September 10, 2014 by matimati

[thailiketoo]

Saves money or so they believe. Lots of Thais including and especially Bars unplug their fridges at night.

Interesting....

I strongly suspect that it takes more electricity to get the refrigeration units down to working temperature in the morning than they save by not leaving them plugged in to maintain the same cool temperature at night!

Wonder if anyone has thought of noting the power used in a 24 hour period" plugged in" at night as apposed to a 24 hour period "unplugged" at night on their electric meter?

That;s just too logical....

Maybe the gremlins living in the spirit house are happier with no power at night??? 555

Most appliances say unplug when not in use.

Household fridge leave plugged in yes Ok and best to see it is earthed.

The large double door type of fridge my Mrs has in her cafe using less electric if she unplugs at night, no gremlins or pee, a fact.

How do you know it's a fact? Is your power bill determined using a peak usage multiplier at work?

Do you think large commercial food producers unplug refrigerators at night (they run thousands of refrigerators)? Sorry buddy. You are 100% wrong ask any health inspector in the world or any energy consultant in the world or any professional food service operation.

Edited September 10, 2014 by thailiketoo

[farang000999]

was there some gov program at some point that told them to do this?

[kannot]

Why not just go the whole hog and uncouple the incoming mains cables at night then wrap yourself in cotton wool (allergen free organically grown from fair trade producers) before sleeping ,only to be mown down the next day by Somchai the chariot driver?

Edited September 10, 2014 by kannot

[jcisco]

The reason is due to the effects of low voltage dips that occur in some of the distant locations from the generation source. This is not so much a problem within bkk and most other communities as Thailand generally has great transmission equipment. Though rather lacking in strategic policy that has them with few plants and huge transmission distances.

Another reason is the general inconsistency of residential electrical services and home wiring. Which give more motivation to unplug everything as problems related to the above, surging and poor bonding of the neutral.

That's what I have noted on extreme end of the motivation the common one however is, to save money since they believe the electrical is still flowing if it's plugged in still. While true in some cases like TVs and computers that in some cases have huge vampire loads when in standby.

So I guess it's being purely frugal for the most part.

Pants the Great Wall

[ryanhull]

As others have said to save money on the electric however I unplug stuff because the plugs and sockets don't have an on/off switch like in the UK plus from my experience usually poor quality gear

[bina]

i would suggest that is comes , at least those from villages, to the fact that much of the electricity is 'stolen' from the electricity on a main road, and poorly wired, and in his sister's shack, have seen several extension cords attatched to lights in the outside bathroom, and the last thing u want is to walk through water with the cord laying in it (where it is plugged in to yet an other cord)... when u plug it in, you are aware of it; when not in use, unplugged, less chance of getting elctrocuted. and no, no grounding. on the other hand, i come from a frugal family in the states where we were constantly reminded to turn lights off, turn off tv's when not in use etc, and country hubby leaves our entire house lit up and turned on, with our gas safety switch never turned to 'off' (another israeli safety thing from 30 yrs ago when everything was manual and not well installed). (and some parts of our house resemble thai style wiring with extension cords running to outside porch for washing machine etc...

[AYJAYDEE]

Saves money or so they believe. Lots of Thais including and especially Bars unplug their fridges at night.

Interesting....

I strongly suspect that it takes more electricity to get the refrigeration units down to working temperature in the morning than they save by not leaving them plugged in to maintain the same cool temperature at night!

Wonder if anyone has thought of noting the power used in a 24 hour period" plugged in" at night as apposed to a 24 hour period "unplugged" at night on their electric meter?

That;s just too logical....

Maybe the gremlins living in the spirit house are happier with no power at night??? 555

Most appliances say unplug when not in use.

Household fridge leave plugged in yes Ok and best to see it is earthed.

The large double door type of fridge my Mrs has in her cafe using less electric if she unplugs at night, no gremlins or pee, a fact.

How do you know it's a fact? Is your power bill determined using a peak usage multiplier at work?

Do you think large commercial food producers unplug refrigerators at night (they run thousands of refrigerators)? Sorry buddy. You are 100% wrong ask any health inspector in the world or any energy consultant in the world or any professional food service operation.

are you suggesting that a refrigerator uses more electricity if its unpluged at night and plugged in again each morning?

[AYJAYDEE]

Saves money or so they believe. Lots of Thais including and especially Bars unplug their fridges at night.

Interesting....

I strongly suspect that it takes more electricity to get the refrigeration units down to working temperature in the morning than they save by not leaving them plugged in to maintain the same cool temperature at night!

Wonder if anyone has thought of noting the power used in a 24 hour period" plugged in" at night as apposed to a 24 hour period "unplugged" at night on their electric meter?

That;s just too logical....

Maybe the gremlins living in the spirit house are happier with no power at night??? 555

as here is more heat flux into a cool refrigerator from the room than into a warmer refrigerator from that same room, your suspicions are in error

[thailiketoo]

Interesting....

I strongly suspect that it takes more electricity to get the refrigeration units down to working temperature in the morning than they save by not leaving them plugged in to maintain the same cool temperature at night!

Wonder if anyone has thought of noting the power used in a 24 hour period" plugged in" at night as apposed to a 24 hour period "unplugged" at night on their electric meter?

That;s just too logical....

Maybe the gremlins living in the spirit house are happier with no power at night??? 555

Most appliances say unplug when not in use.

Household fridge leave plugged in yes Ok and best to see it is earthed.

The large double door type of fridge my Mrs has in her cafe using less electric if she unplugs at night, no gremlins or pee, a fact.

How do you know it's a fact? Is your power bill determined using a peak usage multiplier at work?

Do you think large commercial food producers unplug refrigerators at night (they run thousands of refrigerators)? Sorry buddy. You are 100% wrong ask any health inspector in the world or any energy consultant in the world or any professional food service operation.

are you suggesting that a refrigerator uses more electricity if its unpluged at night and plugged in again each morning?

Among other things yes. If the refrigerator stayed cool the thermostat would not turn the thing on. That's what they have thermostats for. If the refer is well insulated enough to hold temp overnight it would make no difference if it was plugged in or not; a chest freezer for example or a refer outside in Alaska during the winter. The more stuff in the fridge the better it will hold cold. Simply no reason in the world to turn the thing off. But like I said, don't ask me. Ask a professional who does it for a living.

[AYJAYDEE]

Among other things yes. If the refrigerator stayed cool the thermostat would not turn the thing on. That's what they have thermostats for. If the refer is well insulated enough to hold temp overnight it would make no difference if it was plugged in or not; a chest freezer for example or a refer outside in Alaska during the winter. The more stuff in the fridge the better it will hold cold. Simply no reason in the world to turn the thing off. But like I said, don't ask me. Ask a professional who does it for a living.

I know you consider yourself an expert in most things but your grasp of thermodynamics and heat transfer is obviously not one of them. and I dont have the inclination or the time to remedy that.

[thailiketoo]

Among other things yes. If the refrigerator stayed cool the thermostat would not turn the thing on. That's what they have thermostats for. If the refer is well insulated enough to hold temp overnight it would make no difference if it was plugged in or not; a chest freezer for example or a refer outside in Alaska during the winter. The more stuff in the fridge the better it will hold cold. Simply no reason in the world to turn the thing off. But like I said, don't ask me. Ask a professional who does it for a living.

I know you consider yourself an expert in most things but your grasp of thermodynamics and heat transfer is obviously not one of them. and I dont have the inclination or the time to remedy that.

I didn't say I was an expert. I wrote, "don't ask me. Ask a professional who does it for a living." Or Ask Yahoo, "

Can i turn off the freezer and fridge at night time and put back on in morning to save engery?

https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20081017031637AAvOZhf

Edited September 11, 2014 by thailiketoo

[AYJAYDEE]

And you DID say you would use less energy by leaving it running. Shall i post your quoted words for you or can u read your own words?Among other things yes. If the refrigerator stayed cool the thermostat would not turn the thing on. That's what they have thermostats for. If the refer is well insulated enough to hold temp overnight it would make no difference if it was plugged in or not; a chest freezer for example or a refer outside in Alaska during the winter. The more stuff in the fridge the better it will hold cold. Simply no reason in the world to turn the thing off. But like I said, don't ask me. Ask a professional who does it for a living.

I know you consider yourself an expert in most things but your grasp of thermodynamics and heat transfer is obviously not one of them. and I dont have the inclination or the time to remedy that.

I didn't say I was an expert. I wrote, "don't ask me. Ask a professional who does it for a living." Or Ask Yahoo, "

Can i turn off the freezer and fridge at night time and put back on in morning to save engery?

https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20081017031637AAvOZhf

lol, and most of them you will save some energy but warn against spoilage but why would any of these folks necessarily know any more than you do about heat transfer? lol.I dont have to ask anyone who studied or worked in the heat transfer field pal! I ARE one! and you DID IN FACT say it would save energy by leaving it plugged in. RE-read your own words pal!

[TooPoopedToPop]

People think there will be power surges that cause fires or destroy appliances. Maybe it was a good idea back in the day, and now people were just raised to always unplug everything. From my experience it is more common to unplug everything with older people than with young people.

Good post.

Yes, Thais were raised to unplug everything when not in use.

In addition to the legitimate concern about power surges, they have a peculiar belief that electricity "leaks" into plugged-in appliances.

[jacky54]

Thai logic- having things plugged in uses electricity even when nothing is turned on so take plugs out. leaving fridge doors open for ages, leaving doors open in room with air con on or having the TV on all day with nobody watching does not, apparently, waste power.

[kannot]

As others have said to save money on the electric however I unplug stuff because the plugs and sockets don't have an on/off switch like in the UK plus from my experience usually poor quality gear

I have the switches on all mine double sockets , all are earthed too................then again , I did it all myself.

[AdamBangkok]

Saves money or so they believe. Lots of Thais including and especially Bars unplug their fridges at night.

That explains why my first beer of the day is always warm. Will try waiting until 9 or 10am in future. Thanks for the tip!

[h90]

there can be huge changes in currency that may destroy the devices.

Safety is poor so on an internal short there might be no fuse that cut off the device.

Extremely poor manufactured local devices

I always asked myself why they close the gas bottle after cooking....Meanwhile I have seen a heavily leaking pressure reducer and a big internal leak on the cooking device.

Now it makes sense.....

[AYJAYDEE]

there can be huge changes in currency that may destroy the devices.

Safety is poor so on an internal short there might be no fuse that cut off the device.

Extremely poor manufactured local devices

I always asked myself why they close the gas bottle after cooking....Meanwhile I have seen a heavily leaking pressure reducer and a big internal leak on the cooking device.

Now it makes sense.....

i always turn off gas bottles no matter what country i live in. why put pressure on lines and fittings any longer than necessary?

[ATF]

Saves money or so they believe. Lots of Thais including and especially Bars unplug their fridges at night.

That explains why my first beer of the day is always warm. Will try waiting until 9 or 10am in future. Thanks for the tip!

Some of the better establishments keep a real ice chest just tell them to put a few beers in there before they turn off the fridge.

[tartempion]

Last month a house burnt down in the village, one with a wooden structure above a cinder block ground floor.

Owners said caused by electricity shortcut.

Thus now my wife ensures all appliances are plugged out when we leave the house (except the fridge)

I also have a friend who had lots of dammage to appliances after TWO lightning impacts in one month time around Udon Thani.

Also watched news here (on holiday in Belgium) a few days ago where recommendation was to unplug devices when away from home to reduce housefires caused by shortcuts.

As for gas bottle closure, had a gas smell in my kitchen some time ago, had one burner still active withouth heating, maybe wife made an error?

In Belgium they have gas distribution similar to water and a few houses exploding each year. Thus it is good practise to close the gas bottle tap.

Edited September 11, 2014 by tartempion