Should You or Shouldn’t You Charge Your Phone Overnight?

by FASHION Staff August 24, 2016

Like a lot of people, I charge my phone at night without giving it a second thought. However, a recent New York Times article explored the downsides to re-upping your phone’s battery life while you get your beauty sleep.

According to the Times piece, Android phones and iPhones have built-in chips that protect the device from absorbing too much electrical current once fully charged. But here’s the flip side: Most phones make use of a technology that allows their batteries to accept more current faster. Hatem Zeine of the wireless charging company Ossia told the news outlet that this process also results in certain batteries corroding faster than they might otherwise. If you’re looking to preserve your phone’s battery life, Zeine suggests using a less powerful charger for your device. The kicker is this: most people replace their phones within two years anyway, so many of us aren’t thinking about things like battery life.

I’m fascinated with phantom power, a term used to describe electricity that keeps the clocks, timers, remote controls and other features on our home electronics working and ready to go on the instant we press a button. But this means our devices are constantly eating up energy, even when we’ve turned them off. Some people peg phantom power usage at as much as 10 per cent of the average household’s annual electricity consumption.