exactly 5 min later:a- Would it damage the power grid?b-Would sudden surge after 5 min create even a bigger loss in energy than what was saved in that 5 min period??I am not an electrical engineer? I keep hearing that sometimes turning off an energy source for short term does not really save any energy? Is that true?Thanks alot.Could you help me with these 2 points?
Yes, in this extreme case, it may damage (BOE calculation: 2 million x ~500 watts: ~1 billion watt) if they are on single grid. In many of equipment (motorized) start-up losses are significant. So, you may end-up with little saving and a big grid failure. But if you leave aside such extreme situations, it is always good to turn off electrical equipments even for a short gap. And just to add, beware of leaking currents (e.g. not disconnecting appliances from the power plug) which are bigger concern.
