Standby Saver System???

Cardew

Keewla wrote: »

Cardew.... i'm always suspicious of people who hang around forums all their life handing out dubious advice and unhelpful comments.

p.s. you cannot 'switch of' a mobile charger. But you can... switch one 'off'!

Thank you for pointing out my spelling mistake.

In the same spirit may I point out that i'm should be I'm.
Also:

Usage notes

• Beginning a sentence with but or any other conjunction is considered incorrect

It is, perhaps, no bad thing that we have our suspicions of each other and leave others to judge the merits of the appliance.

Incidentally, what is 'unhelpful' about pointing out that an item is a waste of money?

P.S. Presumably you forgot that you should use capital letters for p.s.

A_fiend_for_life

divadee wrote: »

I have found this plug thing for £16.60 and would need 2 of those or there is this bye bye standby saver for £30

My parents used to switch everything off and pull all the plugs bar the fridge before bed. I seem to have adopted the same behaviour but just switching off when I am finished.

The lifecycle of the product may well use up more energy than what you will save.

• manufacturing
• materials
• packaging
• transport (China?)
• disposal

The same company that is supposed to be green will also deliver the energy saving product overseas, presumably by plane. About as effective as turning the brightness down on a flat screen monitor. (Doesn't save energy at all).

My view is:

It doesn't really save energy when you can switch off at the wall

It doesn't save you money.
Cattle prods are more effective and fun:eek:

One way you can motivate your family members is to keep a log of how much electricity and gas (?) your using and calculate the cost on a daily or weekly basis.
Perhaps daily to start with. This is good for encouraging the woolly jumpers etc.

moonrakerz

A_fiend_for_life wrote: »

My parents used to switch everything off and pull all the plugs bar the fridge before bed. .

As far as safety goes this is a good move. Many sockets are incorrectly wired with Live and Neutral transposed. This means that the switch on the wall is breaking the "return" line from the appliance, not the "supply".
This means that although the appliance may apparently be switched "off" at the wall there is still 240 volts inside it !

Bongedone

Eon are giving Powerdowns away at events. Here they are: -

http://www.eonenergy.com/At-Home/Going-Green/Energy-Saving-Advice/Interactive-House/Resource-Centre/resource-centre-powerdown.htm

Cardew

Bongedone wrote: »

Eon are giving Powerdowns away at events. Here they are: -

http://www.eonenergy.com/At-Home/Going-Green/Energy-Saving-Advice/Interactive-House/Resource-Centre/resource-centre-powerdown.htm

What a strange advert from E-ON

Using a PowerDown will ensure that all your peripherals are turned off when you shut down your computer, this might include your modem, printer or anything else you plug into it.



Plug your computer lead into the main PowerDown socket and then plug any related peripherals into the side sockets. You can plug a flat multi socket adapter into the PowerDown if you have a lot of peripherals. Make sure none of the items are things you need to use when your computer is turned off.

When you switch off your PC, the PowerDown senses this and will automatically cut the power off from the rest of your devices. When you turn your PC on it will automatically power them all back on.

The annual saving by using a PowerDown is over £16*, so its payback period is under half a year. By using a PowerDown you will save 1.76kWh of electricity annually and reduce CO2 emissions by 0.75kg.


* Based on E.ON's standard electricity prices as of 18/09/07

I assume they mean 176kWh?

However to reach that figure you must have a lot of peripherals!!!

geordie_joe

Bongedone wrote: »

Eon are giving Powerdowns away at events. Here they are: -

http://www.eonenergy.com/At-Home/Going-Green/Energy-Saving-Advice/Interactive-House/Resource-Centre/resource-centre-powerdown.htm

I have one of them, it came free when I got 4 free light bulbs. It has three sockets, one for the computer and the other two for peripherals.

Never used it as all my computer/peripherals are plugged into a 6 way extension with a switch. When I switch off the computer, and it has shut down I flick the switch on the extension and everything is off.

There's no point in cutting power to the peripherals if the computer is still in standby.

OK, a little if the peripherals are powered from the mains, but many are powered via the usb cable. So if the computer is still getting power the peripherals are too.

They can invent all the energy saving gadgets they like, none will ever be better than your index finger and the off switch on the mains socket.

Bongedone

geordie_joe wrote: »

I have one of them, it came free when I got 4 free light bulbs. It has three sockets, one for the computer and the other two for peripherals.

Never used it as all my computer/peripherals are plugged into a 6 way extension with a switch. When I switch off the computer, and it has shut down I flick the switch on the extension and everything is off.

There's no point in cutting power to the peripherals if the computer is still in standby.

OK, a little if the peripherals are powered from the mains, but many are powered via the usb cable. So if the computer is still getting power the peripherals are too.

They can invent all the energy saving gadgets they like, none will ever be better than your index finger and the off switch on the mains socket.

That is true. I actually have one connected to my TV. I use it to turn the Wii off as I cannot reach behind the TV and for some reason Nintendo thought it wise not to include a power switch.

As Cardew said, I don't quite believe the figures quoted either.

Travelqueen

I use them in my shared house as it means that it is easier for ALL of us to take responsibility, otherwise as I'm the only one paying the electricity bill there isn't the motivation to get on your hands & knees & turn the things off every morning / evening.
I have a couple of sets of the bye bye standby - one was a xmas present (thanks Santa!) and one from Costco - which was about £16. I also have a Master / Slave socket thing which turns all of the TV peripherals - Wii, Video, DVD, Scart box etc off when the TV is turned off.
Again, all of these things are controlled by one switch which is good for:
1) the lazy
2) the infirm (who may not be able to get down on hands & knees & change anything)
3) Gadget freaks

I will happily hold my hand up and say I fall into the 1st two. I have also noticed that since I have had these my energy usage has dropped substantially as all the TVs etc are no longer left on standby during the day when we are at work....

Worth a look if you are not blessed with a great memory & the foresight to turn everything off everytime...

pmorrisjones

I have just picked up a free one from Cornwall Show. Its either that or a light bulb. They are there tonight and tomorrow (at Wadebridge). Its in an eon box

A_fiend_for_life

176kWh...........mmm..... certainly sounds a lot. Per hour it's 0.02 kWh or 20Wh so is probably a reasonable amount. Energy Star rating for monitors required that on standby they used less than 5% of the energy for normal operation.

Circa £10 per kWh though:rotfl:?

Alternatively try the powerdown mark II......since trailing sockets have 'hooks' or 'screw loops'* on the back your better off either having the trailing socket screwed to the wall (out of site but within reach) or on the side of the computer desk given the space.

* I don't have the packaging anymore!!