10.12.2

Tester, Electrical

1916

Phantom Load Tester 1916. Material: wood, metal, rubber, textile, plastic. Size: 7 1/2" H. x 13" W. x 7 3/4" D. Description: wooden box; lid at top; silver metal latch on front; leather handle on front; two metal vents on each side of box; black rubber feet on bottom; metal plate on front: "Phantom Load, Type B, Serial No. 10770, Primary Volts 110-220, Secondary Amps 100, Cycles 60, for intermittent use only, do not leave in circuit except when making necessary readings, The States Co., Hartford, Conn."; metal plate inside lid: "Primary Link Arrangement, 110 V., 220 V."; two black plastic knobs on left side labeled "Primary"; two silver metal knobs on right side labeled: "Instrument"; four silver metal connectors top center; ten metal levers with black plastic tips; levers numbered .25, .5, 1, 2, 2, 5, 10, 20, 20, 50."

Used by the City of Waseca in 1930s. Found in the attic at Waseca City Hall, 508 South State Street, Waseca, MN. Standby power, also called vampire power, vampire draw, phantom load, or leaking electricity ("phantom load" and "leaking electricity" are actually well-defined technical terms with other meanings, adopted for this different purpose), refers to the electric power consumed by electronic and electrical appliances while they are switched off (but are designed to draw some power) or in a standby mode. Some such devices offer remote controls and digital clock features to the user, while other devices, such as power adapters for disconnected electronic devices, consume power without offering any features (sometimes called no-load power). In the past standby power was largely a non-issue for users, electricity providers, manufacturers, and government regulators. In the first decade of the twenty-first century awareness of the issue grew and it became an important consideration for all parties. Up to the middle of the decade, standby power was often several watts or even tens of watts per appliance, and amounted typically to 10% of the electrical energy usage of the average household.