I love when people go out and actually test the hardware we rely on every day. That’s why I once spent too many hours on file transfer tests for routers at Wirecutter, and why I love the latest analysis from Lifehacker alum Eric Ravenscraft which reveals some major issues with your phone’s wireless charging configuration – issues we all probably thought about it at one point or another, but never posted numbers.
The evaluation seems so simple that I am amazed that I had not encountered it before. Eric worked with the right-to-repair wizards at iFixit sort out just how much energy a typical wireless charger draws over the significantly longer time it is likely to take to charge your smartphone. He then ran the same evaluation for a standard charging cable and power adapter.
The results? Eric writes:
“Charging the phone from full dead to 100% with a cable took an average of 14.26 watt-hours (Wh). Using a wireless charger took an average of 21.01 Wh. That equates to just over 47% more energy for the convenience of not plugging in a cable. In other words, the phone had to work harder, generate more heat and absorb more energy during wireless charging to fill the same large battery. ”
Eric also found that how he positioned his phone on a wireless charger affected how many watt-hours it would take to fully charge his phone. This should come as no surprise to you: If you are a little sloppy in setting up your device, do not make the coils as good as you can, so it will take more watt-hours for your device to laden. If your wireless charger is designed in such a way that it is difficult to miss the coils ever when you rest your phone on the charger, you will probably be more efficient in your charging.
But, as Eric claims, wireless charging will still be inefficient in most scenarios. And the charger itself also draws power: about 0.25 watts every hour, even if your phone is not sitting on it at all.
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However, do not disconnect these wireless chargers just yet
Do you need to replace all your wireless chargers with cables? Now, if you need the fastest charge you can get, it would not hurt. As Nick Guy wrote before Wirecutter last year:
“Qi wireless chargers are slower than wired chargers, full stop.
The fastest chargers we measured in our tests have a fully charged iPhone XR charge to just 50 percent battery capacity in an hour, about half as fast as a wired charger. But any wireless charger can fully charge all phones at night. That’s why I also use one on my nightstand. When I wake up in the middle of the night and want to check my phone (bad habit, I know), I do not have to worry about waking up my partner when I fumble to plug my phone back in. “
And if all you need to do is save energy – all worth one LED light bulb – then cable is the way to go, writes Android Central’s Jerry Hildenbrand:
The overly long, unreadable statement is that the most efficient way to charge your phone is the slowest way: a simple USB-A 5-volt 1-amp charger, combined with a short and stubborn cable directly into your phone. It is also a method that most people will never use because it is super slow, and speed and convenience matter. “
I think this is the approach to take, because it’s important to think about the power you use – especially when you’re thinking about the bigger picture. Using a wireless charger over a wired charger for your phone will have no effect on your electric bill to a noticeable degree. Go to your favorite fast food place without a single order of fries, and you will have easy coverage thats what you would have spent on an inefficient wireless charger.
However, as all of them started with the use of a wireless charger, then we all contribute to an enormous source-suck for the light extra convenience of not having to plug anything in to charge it. Literally, that’s the only advantage at the moment for wireless charging: it’s slower, it’s inefficient, but it does not require you to plug in a cable – a process that typically takes only a few seconds, or is about as difficult as you recycle in a blue bin instead of a black one.
I would not throw turn off your wireless charger, as this is likely to consume as many resources, if not more, as just use the charger. However, the inefficiencies of wireless charging are something to keep in mind. When newer and better wireless chargers arrive, you might consider hanging on to the cable if it is not the last time to do so – for example, if you work at your desk, or if you want to sleep at night – and then use wireless charge for you a few moments when you need extra convenience or otherwise can not switch charging techniques, such as the brand new set up wireless charging in your car.
And while you’re at it, you do it really how to charge your phone constantly, right? Instead of constantly charging yourself to a 100 percent 80 percent charge, consider keeping your phone off the charger until you’re ready for the day (or you really need more battery power for a future outing you plan). Every little bit helps.
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