In the last few years I have purchased a pressure cooker and an air fryer. They both waste electricity by having an off light. Furthermore they act like red nightlights and my kitchen has an eerie red glow at night. What is the actual purpose for off lights besides to waste electricity?

  • Captain Janeway@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Off lights let you know if it’s broken. If it’s on, it’s obviously working. If it’s off and the light is on, it’s getting power. If it’s off and plugged in, but not displaying the light - that indicates it’s broken or not getting power.

    • grayatrox@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      That makes no sense to me. Why not have an on light instead? If the light is on, and the device is operating as expected, that’s good. If the light is off then it has no power or it’s broken. If the light is on and nothing is happening, it’s broken.

      If the light is going to be annoying when the device is on, then turn it off after a few seconds.

      • CmdrShepard@lemmy.one
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        1 year ago

        Seems reasonable on something dangerous like a toaster oven or pressure cooker that you obviously wouldn’t want to leave on and unattended. These lights use almost no power at all.

  • andrewta@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    The ultra tiny amount of electricity is… Well you probably would never notice it on your bill.

    But yeah it can be annoying having it there. I guess the purpose is to tell you that it has power available if you need it

    • CmdrShepard@lemmy.one
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      1 year ago

      Yes those small LED indicator lights use around 10-20mA of current at like 3V which is only 0.06W of power.

  • cerement@slrpnk.net
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    1 year ago

    get a Samsung appliance – they like to use ultra-bright BLINKING blue LEDs for sleep mode

    • davidgro@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      I have a monitor that does that (but in white). It’s in my bedroom. I had to use electrical tape like another commenter here mentioned - I left a tiny hole in the tape so I can see a faint light up close, but it’s not making the room blink at night now.

    • Zozano@aussie.zone
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      1 year ago

      I’m never buying another Samsung monitor.

      I can literally hear it blinking on and off at night, so I need to manually turn it off.

      Damn my perfect hearing.

  • edric@lemm.ee
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    1 year ago

    For soundbars at least, the off light is there because there shouldn’t be any lights on while it’s being used so as not to distract the person watching tv. So the only way to know if the device is off is to have a light on.

  • lovely_reader@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    I figured the purpose was to warn us that these devices have been left plugged in while not in use, which is not advisable because they can become a fire hazard.

  • dQw4w9WgXcQ@lemm.ee
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    1 year ago

    I visited my parents last weekend. They have s printer which has a wave light signal in standby - gradually switching from off to strong light and back. What my parents probably never noticed was the high pitch loud screech which followed the light. I guess the pitch was too high for my parents to hear, but not for me. So whoever designed that can go fuck themselves.

    • Valmond@lemmy.mindoki.com
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      1 year ago

      Just to see the blue light creep out elsewhere in the cheap plastic box…

      It should be fucking illegal to have lights on when the whatever if off.