True or myth?

babe_ruth_3

Please forgive if this has been asked before but I was talking to the nice lady at Scottish Power about the more than double increase in my direct debit::mad: and we got on to the subject of reducing the amount of gas and electric that you use. ie: turning off tv's and computer screens and not leaving them in stanby.

My son (who always leaves his computer screen in standby) says its a load of rubbish and it uses more electricity to keep switching it on and off.

The lady at scottish power quoted 70p per week (per tv) for leaving it in stand by, thats £36.40 per year :eek:

Now, anyone out there know the real truth?

Contains_Mild_Peril

babe_ruth wrote:

My son (who always leaves his computer screen in standby) says its a load of rubbish and it uses more electricity to keep switching it on and off.

I'm no expert, but I believe that would only be true if you switched them on and off at least every minute! Though the computer itself may use a lot of power on startup, because it has to go through the whole startup routine, there's no reason that would apply to the monitor.
There's really no excuse other than plain laziness for leaving TVs on all night. My DH still grouches if anyone dares switch it off and make him get up off his backside to switch it back on though.:rolleyes2
It is true that fluorescent lights use an amount of electricity equivalent to several minutes' use to switch them off and then back on again, but most appliances don't work like that.

Cardew

Covered lot and lots of times. If you search for 'standby TV' you will find lots of threads.

The lady at Scottish Power is talking rubbish about a TV cost 70p a week on standby.

Most manufacturers of TVs have pledged to cut standby consumption to well below 1 watt. Many have been doing that for years.

A TV with a standby consumption of 1 watt, if left on 24/7 will use 87 pence per year with electricity at 10p/kWh

I have 3 TV's a 6 year old 32" Sony that has a standby consumption of 0.6 watts, a 6 year old 25" Panasonic @ 0.9 watts and a new 32" LCD that uses 1 watt. So if I left all 3 TVs on standby 24/7 their total cost would be £2.19p a year

Very old TV's will have higher standby power consumption but I doubt if any are over 10 watts - £8.70p per year

Tallymanjohn

Just as a slight aside, does anyone know of any other device for measuring power consumption of individual devices? Maplins have one listed but have no stocks at the moment (plus they are £26 or so).

Cardew

Contains_Mild_Peril wrote:

There's really no excuse other than plain laziness for leaving TVs on all night.

I think that is a rather sweeping statement.

One of my TVs is plugged into an extension lead that also has a recording device plugged into it - used quite often at night and not to be switched off.

This extension lead is behind the TV/DVD/Sky/recorder (a very heavy 32 " set). To get at this extension lead to remove the TV 13 amp plug entails moving out both the sofa and the TV and scrabbling about on my knees.
I have absolutely no intention of going through this rigmarole twice a day to save 30 pence a year.

I would imagine this is a not uncommon scenario for many people who choose to leave their set on standby, and it is not my definition of plain laziness.

babe_ruth_3

Contains_Mild_Peril wrote:

I'm no expert, but I believe that would only be true if you switched them on and off at least every minute! Though the computer itself may use a lot of power on startup, because it has to go through the whole startup routine, there's no reason that would apply to the monitor./QUOTE]

He has one of these apple screens with computer inside it. (No separate tower)

Thanks cardew. Do you mean search standby tv on this site or google it?

Cardew

babe_ruth wrote:

Contains_Mild_Peril wrote:

I'm no expert, but I believe that would only be true if you switched them on and off at least every minute! Though the computer itself may use a lot of power on startup, because it has to go through the whole startup routine, there's no reason that would apply to the monitor./QUOTE]

He has one of these apple screens with computer inside it. (No separate tower)

Thanks cardew. Do you mean search standby tv on this site or google it?

On this site.

I wouldn't recommend your Son leaving his PC on standby, unless for a short period. I switch off my monitor every night as it is just a switch.

browsingid

Apple computers are usually very good for using a very small amount of power whilst on standby - I think California (where Apple is based) has a law requiring electronic devices to consume no more than 2W whilst in standby, and I would be very surprised if apple didn't comply with Californian regs on this issue.

Here's a site (American) that discusses some measurements of standby consumption, including for a few different models of imacs:
http://www.macalester.edu/its/faq/power_usage.html

Contains_Mild_Peril

Cardew wrote:

I think that is a rather sweeping statement.

One of my TVs is plugged into an extension lead that also has a recording device plugged into it - used quite often at night and not to be switched off.

This extension lead is behind the TV/DVD/Sky/recorder (a very heavy 32 " set). To get at this extension lead to remove the TV 13 amp plug entails moving out both the sofa and the TV and scrabbling about on my knees.
I have absolutely no intention of going through this rigmarole twice a day to save 30 pence a year.

I would imagine this is a not uncommon scenario for many people who choose to leave their set on standby, and it is not my definition of plain laziness.

Sorry for any offence my post may have caused. Isn't your TV set equipped with an "off" switch then? I assumed they all were.

Cardew

Contains_Mild_Peril wrote:

Sorry for any offence my post may have caused. Isn't your TV set equipped with an "off" switch then? I assumed they all were.

No offence caused at all.
The mains switch on one is 'hidden' at the back of the set(under a 'ledge') and still requires furniture removal to get at it. Also the manual makes the point "the mains switch does not detach the mains from the set completely"

Modern sets are designed to be left on standby. As it is on standby(or switched on) for approx 16 hours each day, having the mains off for 8 hours a day saves next to nothing on my set.

humfer

Cardew wrote:

Covered lot and lots of times. If you search for 'standby TV' you will find lots of threads.

The lady at Scottish Power is talking rubbish about a TV cost 70p a week on standby.

Most manufacturers of TVs have pledged to cut standby consumption to well below 1 watt. Many have been doing that for years.

A TV with a standby consumption of 1 watt, if left on 24/7 will use 87 pence per year with electricity at 10p/kWh

I have 3 TV's a 6 year old 32" Sony that has a standby consumption of 0.6 watts, a 6 year old 25" Panasonic @ 0.9 watts and a new 32" LCD that uses 1 watt. So if I left all 3 TVs on standby 24/7 their total cost would be £2.19p a year

Very old TV's will have higher standby power consumption but I doubt if any are over 10 watts - £8.70p per year

Completely agree. Most people will struggle to get to that figure quoted by Scottish Power even if the telly was left permanently ON for 4 or 5 hours a day