on 11/20/2008 7:48 AM George said the following:
Leroy wrote:


yeah, the article stated 3 lousy watts for a *lighted* doorbell. I
doubt
that an unlighted doorbell switch even draws a watt. It's a transformer
but it has *no* load on it at all except for the brief moment it's
pushed.
Much ado about Nothing.


But a transformer with no load consumes power which is largely given
off as heat. You can observe this by feeling the transformer. Such
loads collectively add up to a lot of waste. If you have purchased any
devices that use external power supplies (cell phone charger, router
in recent times you will notice that that they no longer use
transformers and come with much more efficient switching power
supplies. When it comes to power waste slow and steady wins the race.

My transformer is mounted just outside the power box in the basement.
Since all the heat in my finished basement where my office is located is
supplied by the ambient heat of the boiler and water heater, it adds to
the ambient heat. Right now, it is 28º F outside and it is 66º F inside
the basement.


--

Bill
In Hamptonburgh, NY
In the original Orange County. Est. 1683
To email, remove the double zeroes after @