Bye Bye Standby

tododo

Hi all

Has anybody used this system

http://www.automatedhome.co.uk/article1831.html

Seems to be pretty good if it works well, would work well especially for PCs, printers, routers etc

missile

"Bye bye Standby" range will be available from the end of next month (February 2007)...

Why not just use the switch on the socket?

tododo

Lazy I suppose.....simple answer

Seem to be out there to buy

http://www.smarterproducts.co.uk/acatalog/Bye-Bye-Standby.html

Emmett

I've read somewhere (I can't remember the source though) that the average household wastes about £70 a year keeping various things on standby. This BBC link demonstrates the problem though

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4620350.stm

I have to admit, I got a remote switch from B&Q which control 4 power points that means I can turn my PC, TV, HiFi, Routers etc off with the press of a few buttons. I know it is a bit lazy and I could turn them off at the wall but after a few days of this most people would forget or not bother :rolleyes:
I think the switch is made by Byron and didn't cost that much

moonrakerz

Emmett wrote: »

I've read somewhere (I can't remember the source though) that the average household wastes about £70 a year keeping various things on standby. This BBC link demonstrates the problem though

The "standby" thing is another "green" con-trick ! Even this BBC article is remarkably thin on facts - it is all extrapolation. Back in the 1880s someone forecast that the increase in London's traffic would mean that by 1900 the streets would be 10 feet deep in horse ****. Most of these articles employ the same "bad" science; don't let the facts get in the way of a good scare story.

£70 a year ! That is about 700kWh a year or 2 kWh a day. My 32" CRT TV uses 3W in standby, IF I left it on all day and night that is 72 Watts - I would need another 28 of these TVs to use 2kWh a day ! it is probably in standby for 2/3 hours a day - where does this ludicrous figure of £70 come from ? Think of a number and double/treble/quadruple it !

And people buy devices for £20/£50/£100 to "save" energy and money ! Use the ON/OFF switch - it's already there and it's free !

By all means save energy (and money !), but don't get taken in by a lot of the drivel that is being peddled in the media.

I'm OFF to bed now and so is the TV.

Poppycat

Some tvs dont come with a one-off switch now, my Samsung LCD doesnt just standby, it was a right pain to switch it off in my last house as I couldn't reach the sockets.

I like the energy thing on Dragons Den the other week standby saver I think it was called.

http://www.global-cool.com/en/2007/03/24/dragons-den-buys-into-co2-saving-gadget/


http://www.standby-saver.co.uk/standby_saver_home.htm

simate

Poppycat wrote: »

Some tvs dont come with a one-off switch now, my Samsung LCD doesnt just standby, it was a right pain to switch it off in my last house as I couldn't reach the sockets.

I like the energy thing on Dragons Den the other week standby saver I think it was called.

http://www.global-cool.com/en/2007/03/24/dragons-den-buys-into-co2-saving-gadget/


http://www.standby-saver.co.uk/standby_saver_home.htm

Hey Poppycat, I'm sorry about your nan , my thoughts are with you.

alzeebub

moonrakerz wrote: »

The "standby" thing is another "green" con-trick ! Even this BBC article is remarkably thin on facts - it is all extrapolation. Back in the 1880s someone forecast that the increase in London's traffic would mean that by 1900 the streets would be 10 feet deep in horse ****. Most of these articles employ the same "bad" science; don't let the facts get in the way of a good scare story.

£70 a year ! That is about 700kWh a year or 2 kWh a day. My 32" CRT TV uses 3W in standby, IF I left it on all day and night that is 72 Watts - I would need another 28 of these TVs to use 2kWh a day ! it is probably in standby for 2/3 hours a day - where does this ludicrous figure of £70 come from ? Think of a number and double/treble/quadruple it !

And people buy devices for £20/£50/£100 to "save" energy and money ! Use the ON/OFF switch - it's already there and it's free !

By all means save energy (and money !), but don't get taken in by a lot of the drivel that is being peddled in the media.

I'm OFF to bed now and so is the TV.

Before you poopoo the whole idea, do you have any proof this is just a con?

Someone else mentioned Dragons Den and the 'standby-saver'... this was a product demonstrated that completely powers down the appliance. They had a meter connected to the appliance that showed a 5w drain, even when the appliance was in standby mode... they even made mention of the fact that some appliances drain much more than this! If every appliance is draining this amount, then it soon starts to add up. Hell, even if it takes a couple of years to recoup the initial cost of the 'saver' then it's got to be worth it. It's not as if you're going to throw these things away every couple of years is it?

Their device worked very well in completely cutting the power supply to the appliance. Yes, we could all just switch it off at the mains, but people are lazy Their device allowed everything to be done via your remote control... i'll be buying them

thescouselander

Be careful of the inflated claims some environmentalists (and companies selling these devises) are making.

The example shown on dragons den isn't typical of most appliances. Most modern applances consume very little in standby. There is an agreement known as the 1 watt initiative which most mass electronics manufacturers are signed up to. This means that if a manufacturer has signed up to the initiative any product they make will consume less than 1 watt in standby.

All of the electronic products in my house consume less than 1 watt in standby and many use less than 0.5 watts. If you have bought an electronic device in the passt few years there is a good chance it will use very little in standby.

Inactive

Just a word of warning, if you power down a Sky receiver overnight, you will miss any software updates sent by Sky, usually around 4/5 a.m., to receive them it needs to be either on, or in standby mode.

moonrakerz

alzeebub wrote: »

Before you poopoo the whole idea, do you have any proof this is just a con?

The electrical mathematics show it to be a con - the financial mathematics show it to be an even bigger con - turn it off at the wall if you want to save energy!

The problem is that many people are taken in by what are spurious claims and sometimes plain lies. Two examples that I heard today on BBC radio:-

1. A mobile phone charger puts more carbon into the atmosphere than does a gas powered patio heater !
2. "A friend of mine got a wind turbine and solar panels and recouped the cost in just one season"

These claims are just completely untrue, not only untrue - but impossibly untrue ! The problem is that several million people heard these idiotic claims and a large number of people will believe them !

I have already said that I totally agree with saving energy (and money) but it saddens me to see so many people taken in by these stupid claims and wasting even more of their hard earned money. Most of these devices are sold for one purpose - to make money for the maker/supplier. You MIGHT save miniscule amounts of electricity, but you certainly won't save money.