Criminy! I have a phantom load post scheduled for publication later this morning!
MsT, do you have a source for the "lamps have phantom load" idea? I was under the impression that phantom load only happened in devices that either maintain some sort of functionality when "off" (clock/timer functions on video recorders, listening for the remote control's command to turn on, etc.) or those that have a transformer (box as part of the power cord) which isn't deactivated when there is no need for power. Simpler things with real on/off switches that actually interrupt the flow of power - like most lamps - should be OK, I thought?
Scott, what can I say? Maybe you can clear up the lamp issue?
Anne, here's one mention of the lamp. I'm going to borrow my dad's Kill-A-Watt and check in a few weeks, but I will say that when I burnt out the generator in Wyoming, we tested our little electronic devices to see what exactly caused the generator to go on and found that the simple coffee maker without a clock drew power (while off!) as did the tape player while off. Those aren't what I traditionally think of as having a phantom load, so I'm inclined to plug everything into a power strip and unplug the strip.
I was suspicious about the lamp reference, too. The link you offered talks about a lamp with a "wall wart" which I bet is the source of the load.
I don't think an ordinary table lamp, switched off, pulls any load.
I have a date to pick up the Kill-A-Watt and will measure everything and post the results here. We have some wall wart things, some things with digital displays, and some things that are antiques. We shall see....
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