Is it rude to borrow an unused power outlet without asking?
Is it rude to borrow an unused power outlet without asking?
Sometimes I'm at the doctor's office, at the library, or even at the grocery store and see an unused power outlet. My phone is dying. I feel weird plugging in, but I feel even weirder asking for permission.
You could probably just skip the whole anxiety issue by buying a portable battery and using that whenever you're low. If your phone is fully charged at the start of the day and you burn through the whole battery and a mid range portable battery you're using your phone quite excessively and may need to figure something more reliable out.
Yeah this is a great tip, you can get some that can fast charge your phone and plug directly into the wall. You can use it as a normal phone charger and then unplug it and bring it with you for 10,000mAh on the go
I agree completely. This is not as big of a deal as some people are making it. Charging a phone takes VASTLY more energy than a charging a car. Whoever complains about the former is being more than a bit ridiculous and really needs to rethink their priorities.
Phones charging use such little power I'd really be surprised if anyone cared. It really depends on the place. A library I would have no issue plugging in anything without asking. I can't say I've ever been at the doctors and considered charging my phone though I may ask out of courtesy if I did simply because I like my doctor. Overall I'd say it wouldn't be a big deal either way.
They use a few cents (in US dollars) a year.
A 2000 mAh battery that is charging at 3.7V for one hour per day uses 2.5kWh of energy per year. About $.50 at ~$.20/kWh. That’s pretty remarkable!
If it's a public place and you have legitimate business starting there for a while, I don't see any issue with it. Eg. Doctors waiting room and you have an appointment, restaurant and you're dining there, etc.
If it's someone's private home I'd ask first.
Some places you're not supposed to plug anything in unless it's tested and tagged. Unlikely to be an issue in a public area, but if you're somewhere that the power getting tripped would be a safety issue then best to ask first.
Are you thinking of the ICU too?
A business's insurance might require all electronic devices to be tested before being plugged in though.
Then those outlets shouldn't be unlocked
Something small like that, you're fine. They wouldn't really care, or even notice the bill.
The problem comes if you either start unplugging devices to plug in your phone, or you plug in such a ridiculously large load that you start tripping breakers, but that comes more with space heater, or car charging territory.
Phones are perfectly fine, and in some places, like the library, that is what they're meant for, to let people charge their phones or laptops while they work.
I don't think it matters
Imho, it’s a bit like a water fountain. You wouldn’t ask before filling up your bottle. In both cases you as an individual are costing the business pennys.
The only place you mentioned that I personally wouldn’t do it is a store, but that’s mostly because to charge your phone you kinda have to sit by the outlet and I personally see stores as places of movement where hanging out is discouraged. You are supposed to buy something and leave.
But for doctors offices, you’re probably fine, and libraries you 100% all g.
Not rude at all. I wouldn't even ask for a phone charge.
Just don't plug your giant bitcoin miner in.
rolls huge server rack filled with GPUs into the doctor's office
"Yo doc, mind if I plug in for a bit?"
Well, seeing as you asked so nicely.
Going to need a little more power, do you have a 50Amp outlet in the back?
There's a street light outside my house, I swear I'm going to open the hatch and install a gpo if I ever get an electric car.
Libraries welcome you to do it! So definitely don’t feel weird there.
From a (US) financial perspective, a phone charger takes about 5 watts of electricity. At $0.010/kWh that's $0.0005/hr (or ¢0.05/hr) of charging. This is utterly negligible.
For reference, a worker at the federal minimum wage of $7.25/hr would be paid that much after 0.25 seconds of working. It's not even worth paying an employee to tell you to not plug in, which would probably take at least 15 seconds.
Naturally, some businesses may want to discourage people from loitering, but more often than not, they probably want your business (library, grocery store, coffee shop &c) or understand that reality happens.
It depends on the charger. Fast charging can pull around 20W (1 second of minimum wage worker time, so maybe worth it if they ask very quickly), and PD allows for wattages over 100W, which would cost 1 cent per hour or more, though you'd still leave on your own long before then because your device will be charged.
In really high traffic places like poorly supported airports, it does tend to wear out the outlets which is a bit more money over time.
Realistically, most places can afford to provide charging facilities. I'm still carrying a battery pack with me though.
Will you drink a can of Coke™ lying around a stranger's house without asking? No? Then, ask for permission as a matter of etiquette unless there are signs specifically saying it is ok to use them.
Well if they had some on tap piped into each wall of their house I would be pretty comfortable with filling up a bottle.
Aka a water fountain lmao.
Would you fill up your bottle at the fountain, then you should be able to juice up your phone.
Ye
Big difference to a random coke and a flow of constant power that literally costs less than a cent to charge a phone.
Yep, super easy to ask. "Hey, is it cool if I charge my phone here while I wait?" I've never had anybody tell me "no". Assuming you're not also asking for a cable or something, I don't think most people mind at all.
Dr office, no in the waiting room, yes in the exam room. Library, no. Grocery store, yes. Any more?
Airport? Shopping mall? Restaurant? Parking lot? Stadium? Your friend's house? The office? Classroom? Museum? Cinema?
BDSM parlor.
Edit: I got it backwards, meaning these are what I'd consider acceptable places to charge your phone.
Airport? Yeah but use a no-data charging cable.
Mall? I don't see why anyone would care about that.
Restaurant? If it's under your table or very close by.
Parking lot? Do they have outlets?
Stadium? Where would they be charging it at a stadium, maybe where the bathrooms and concessions are? If it's out of the way I don't think that would bother anyone.
Your friends house? Yeah unless they're running an off-the-grid setup or something.
The office? Yes fuck the man.
Classroom? I assume they can charge it somewhere while in class, I've been out of there for a while though.
Museum? Eh, feel like it can wait.
Cinema? No.
I think it'd have to be no for all them, no? Besides maybe museum or cinema, but I guess it depends on where the outlet is.
I've definitely plugged in the exam room, they leave you to wait for 10-15 minutes I can get 30-50% charge while waiting.
My preference would be to ask for permission.
I wouldn't bother asking if it's a 15 min charge for your phone. If you are there for 3 hours, then maybe consider asking.
If you don't have to reach or lean over someone, sure. Obviously if you do that would require saying 'excuse me...' or asking them to plug it in for you. An open outlet, anyway, is always fair game. If someone needs to use it after you start... they can say something.
I had a problem like this the other day. I needed to vacuum out my car and there is no good outlet near it where I park at my apartment building. Went to the hand wash to wash my car, then on the outside of the building there was a random outlet on the wall, no idea why it was there. I thought about plugging my vacuum in that I had in my trunk, but I felt too weird about it..
On another note, I've totally used outlets in the hospital waiting area when I've been there for hours. I don't feel weird about that for whatever reason. But we don't pay for Healthcare here so maybe that has something to do with it.
context is important. in a waiting area or lounge, they should be okay with it- especially if it's the kind of place you'll be waiting for hours.
visiting your inlaws? people are weird.
I don't think it's that big of a deal specially if you are just charging your phone.
I've literally moved tables in doctors offices to plug my phone in and no one's ever said anything. The library those outlets are yours. Charge away.
yeah me too, I always just move other people's furniture around and even shoosh the occasional pet away if my phone is in need, no one ever said anything either. they might look funny but that's probably bc my farts smell
Carry a power strip and you'll never have to worry. I learned that in the Marines.
This is the true LPT.
If you carry a small splitter, then you don't have to try and find an empty outlet at airports and such. Unplug, split, Plug.
Those little three way splitters the size of your thumb? Now you've made two friends and didn't have to carry an entire surge protector.
I picture a Marine with an ammo belt with a power strip tucked behind it
All the examples you gave sound like it’s not a problem just plugging it in 5 minutes or so. But if it makes you feel uncomfortable or self-conscious, a power bank might be the solution to your problems.
No... Never
depends on what it is and where you're connecting it/who pays the power bill
Plugging into any outlet that you do not own or have explicit permission to use is stealing electricity. People with Nissan Leafs used to do this to charge their cars.
Now, a phone charger takes so little electricity you could probably pay them a penny and you'd be overpaying, but stealing is stealing.
Just ask permission first.
While I agree with the sentiment that it is technically stealing. No one should worry about charging their phone in public. Atleast in the region of the US I am located, it costs about 1-2 cents per year to charge your phone. So charging your phone for one sitting would be a miniscule amount of money. Just opening the door of the business and letting the conditioned air out would cost them more.
Obviously cars are an entirely different situation since one charge can be several if not tens of dollars.
I agree completely. This is not as big of a deal as some people are making it. Charging a phone takes VASTLY more energy than a charging a car. Whoever complains about the former is being more than a bit ridiculous and really needs to rethink their priorities.
While I agree with the sentiment that it is technically stealing. No one should worry about charging their phone in public
It is stealing. It doesnt matter if they're stealing $0.00001 from someone, they're still stealing from them. If they ask permission, or if the location has an outlet marked for public use, then its no longer stealing. I have seen charge stations in public, and while I personally would never use those due to my question of their security, people can use those too without stealing.
If a person's phone battery often runs low when they are away from home, that's what portable battery banks and car chargers are for. If their phone battery dies in the middle of the day, they can simply stop running a million apps in the background and maybe lower the brightness down from "puts the sun to shame" to something more reasonable. My phone battery lasts all day long, and usually I end the day with 30% battery remaining, and its an LG Wing. Not even a brand new phone and it has two screens.