Standby mode and energy savings.

[Dashnine]

I think the moral of the story is most modern devices, most of which are designed to be left in standby are not huge energy consumers.

Older equipment may well use more power, and obviously consuming power 24/7 are things designed to work continuously (e.g. broadband routers) or that use downtime to work (e.g. TV recorders).

If you’re really worried or concerned something is soaking up power, get a smart meter and go round turning things off and see the impact. My house’s resting consumption (i.e. nothing ‘on’ just before bed) is about 180watts. Sorry, I’ve probably just opened another can of worms.

[SD1too]

Originally Posted by wraymond

... there is no way I would ever leave any appliance switched on at the mains.

Not even your central heating boiler, fridge-freezer, broadband router, cordless telephone system Ray?

Originally Posted by MSS

0.22W ... left on for 19 hours means that the consumption is actually ... over 365 days 1.5KWh. Not a huge amount

In fact at my current unit rate that will cost 49.5p + 5% VAT = 52p over a year! I think that puts this discussion into perspective.

Originally Posted by VVC-Geeza

Does it do any harm to turn off at the wall socket on a regular basis? ... What is the truth?

The truth is that it is the process of turning appliances on and off which introduces unreliability.

Simon

[wraymond]

Thanks for that Simon, should have been more explicit! For the record: Boiler - off at bedtime, on at 7.30 am when we rise! Nightime warmies: double quilt full of neatly trimmed Eider duck feathers.

[MSS]

Originally Posted by Dashnine

........ My house’s resting consumption (i.e. nothing ‘on’ just before bed) is about 180watts. Sorry, I’ve probably just opened another can of worms.

A can of worms it is - 180W is a huge amount of power use in house-idle mode!

It is important to think about standby power when purchasing your gear. For example, I recently chose a PSU for a new PC build for Windows 11. The PSU is a Be Quiet 300W Bronze certified unit with standby power consumption of 0.1W.

On the point of broadband routers many of them have a facility to go into standby/non-active mode during set hours. This reduces the consumption drastically as opposed to just leaving it active 24/7.

[SD1too]

Originally Posted by wraymond

Thanks for that Simon, should have been more explicit! For the record: Boiler - off at bedtime, on at 7.30 am when we rise!

Can you confirm then Ray that you switch off the electricity supply to your central heating boiler at bedtime? This will mean that it won't fire in the morning until you manually switch it on again.

But you haven't mentioned your fridge-freezer, broadband router and cordless telephone chargers. I'm sure you appreciate my point that it is not realistic to switch every appliance off at the wall socket as you originally said, neither is it necessary provided that appliances are kept in good physical condition and with an appropriately rated fuse in the plug (when fitted).

Simon

[Dashnine]

Originally Posted by MSS

A can of worms it is - 180W is a huge amount of power use in house-idle mode!

I've got quite a lot of tech devices in the house (BT Fibre & WiFi boxes, 2 x SkyQ systems and TVs, Surround Sound system, 6 Alexa Echos, 3 WiFI plugs, a desktop PC and 2 monitors) plus a built in fridge / freezer and an American style fridge freezer, House alarm. Oh, and a Smart Meter display....

[suzublu]

TV off at the plug when I go to bed 😎 you never know, lightning might come down the aerial at night and burn the house down 😁

Sent from my SM-A326B using Tapatalk

[MSS]

Originally Posted by Dashnine

I've got quite a lot of tech devices in the house (BT Fibre & WiFi boxes, 2 x SkyQ systems and TVs, Surround Sound system, 6 Alexa Echos, 3 WiFI plugs, a desktop PC and 2 monitors) plus a built in fridge / freezer and an American style fridge freezer, House alarm. Oh, and a Smart Meter display....

So you are the man responsible for global warming!

Originally Posted by suzublu

TV off at the plug when I go to bed 😎 you never know, lightning might come down the aerial at night and burn the house down 😁

Sent from my SM-A326B using Tapatalk

Surge protectors!

[bikerdude666]

Originally Posted by Dashnine

My house’s resting consumption (i.e. nothing ‘on’ just before bed) is about 180watts. Sorry, I’ve probably just opened another can of worms.

Anything above 80 Watts and I'm wandering around the house to find what's been left on! Recently fitted 6 LED spotlights in the kitchen instead of the 2 pendant bulbs, which reduced power from 120W to around 30W. LED bulbs in the lounge instead of halogen. Due to times we work and kids clubs etc we were often getting 3 separate lots of tea, but are now making an effort to all try and find some time to eat together so we only use the oven/hob once.

I've even tried to be better in the garage, though that was more due to limited power supply, rather than cost. 2 LED battens provide far more light than the previous units fitted, and use a lot less power.

The most surprising things for me, are the 3D printers, I can run them daily with very little effect on the electricity bill.

The real test will be now my wife has got an electric car, see how much the electric bill increases vs the petrol savings.

[SD1too]

Originally Posted by suzublu

TV off at the plug when I go to bed 😎 you never know, lightning might come down the aerial at night and burn the house down 😁

Switching the TV off at the plug will have zero effect upon the lightning risk I'm afraid Ron.

Simon