Tested: Should You Unplug Chargers When You’re Not Using Them?

How much energy do your smartphone, laptop, and tablet chargers really use? Should you unplug them when you aren’t using them to save power and money? We measured exactly how much power a variety of common chargers use, and how much keeping them plugged in will cost your each year.

You’ve probably heard of “vampire power” — the amount of power a device uses in standby mode when you aren’t using it. But just how much vampire power does a charger use, and is it worth the hassle of unplugging them when you aren’t using them?

How to Improve Battery Life with Windows 10’s New Power Settings

While Windows 10 is getting a lot of press for its “new” Start menu, beyond that there’s still a lot of stuff most users who skipped Windows 8 probably don’t know about. Today we want to talk about Windows 10’s power and battery settings.

The quickest way to access the settings is to open the Action Center and click “All settings”.

How to Charge Your Phone or Tablet Faster

Not all charging is equal. If your smartphone (or tablet) is low on battery and you only have a limited amount of time to charge it, here’s how you can get the most juice possible.

These tips should work for practically anything that charges via USB, including cameras, peripherals, and any other device you might have.

How to Extend Your iPad’s Battery Life When You’re Not Using it

A while ago we had the realization that we don’t use our tablets as much as we used to; that led us to ask how we could extend battery life on our Android tablets when we weren’t using them. Today, we pose that same question to our iPads.

In reality, iPads tend to get really good battery life with little adjustment, but that’s not to say it couldn’t be better. There are things you can do to wring more time from a single charge, particularly if you use tablets in a way that we feel is typical: for short periods, in evening, perhaps sitting on the couch or lying in bed.

Most of us aren’t taking our iPads with us everywhere, they usually stay home when we go to work or out to play.

Why (and When) You Need to Replace Your Surge Protector

Surge protectors aren’t like diamonds. They have a definite lifespan. At some point, your surge protector will stop protecting your gear from power surges and become a dumb power strip.

It’s difficult to tell exactly when a surge protector loses those protective powers and just functions as a power strip. But, if you’re still using an old surge protector you purchased ten years ago, it’s probably long past time to replace it.

Why You Need a Surge Protector

Do you have your PC, television, or other expensive electronics plugged directly into a power outlet? You shouldn’t. You should plug your gadgets into a surge protector, which isn’t necessarily the same thing as a power strip.

Sure, we all might forget about surge protection because everything seems to be going fine, but it only takes one power surge or spike and your expensive electronics could become useless.