Standby power consumption

Petriix

While items on standby do add up, it's such a negligible saving that it's mostly not worth bothering to turn them off. But it is worth double checking actual consumption. I've discovered that the old amplifier I have for powering the speakers in my kitchen and bathroom uses a constant 30W, as do both my WiFi routers. Everything else on standby combined uses less than 30W in total.

We have 3 low power (2w) bulbs on 24/7 and our total background usage is between 120W and 240W depending on what the fridge-freezer is doing. Cutting that down is fairly futile in comparison to simply reducing usage of the higher powered items.

Turning the heating down, having shorter showers, washing clothes at 30 degrees and air-drying them will make so much more difference. Turn the oven off a few minutes before things are cooked and (in winter) be careful not to just allow heat to escape from the house once you've paid for it.

With high energy prices the case for solar panels and battery storage gets better. As does investing in the Ripple wind farm.

tim_p

Petriix said:

We have 3 low power (2w) bulbs on 24/7 and our total background usage is between 120W and 240W 

Surely 6w (3x2) = 144wH so do you turn one off to get the lower (120wH) figure?

Cardew

tim_p said:

Petriix said:

We have 3 low power (2w) bulbs on 24/7 and our total background usage is between 120W and 240W 

Surely 6w (3x2) = 144wH so do you turn one off to get the lower (120wH) figure?

I think you are confusing W(Watts) with wH(sic) whiich is Watt/Hour

His 3 bulbs contribute 6W to his background usage of  120W to 240W.

MouldyOldDough

The only things that we leave running 24/7 are the router (6 watts (idle) - 10 watts (flat out) and the fridge freezer (240kWh /a) = 27 watts average consumption

The boiler uses a miniscule bit.....as does the sky box

Which works out at approximately 33 watts on average !

at 20p per kWh - 0.6p per hour !

or less than 1p per hour wuth sky box and boiler

That seems rather low

Could someone please check my figures ?

[Deleted User]

Petriix said:

While items on standby do add up, it's such a negligible saving that it's mostly not worth bothering to turn them off. 

Sometimes the cost of the wear and tear of using the socket switch out ways the cost of leaving devices turned on. 

Cardew

MouldyOldDough said:

The only things that we leave running 24/7 are the router (6 watts (idle) - 10 watts (flat out) and the fridge freezer (240kWh /a) = 27 watts average consumption

The boiler uses a miniscule bit.....as does the sky box

Which works out at approximately 33 watts on average !

at 20p per kWh - 0.6p per hour !

or less than 1p per hour wuth sky box and boiler

That seems rather low

Could someone please check my figures ?

Checked and 100% correct - I have awarded you a gold badge!

At 20p/kWh an average 50W consumption costs 1p an hour

Phlik

[Deleted User] said:

Petriix said:

While items on standby do add up, it's such a negligible saving that it's mostly not worth bothering to turn them off. 

Sometimes the cost of the wear and tear of using the socket switch out ways the cost of leaving devices turned on. 

very true. Worth considering that modern electronics is very reliable but usually the weak point is the power supply, they usually go pop when power is applied.

MouldyOldDough

So let's all agree that the advice not to leave things on standby is incorrect and out of date ?

Modern equipment is so efficient on low power that it makes NO sense to switch it off completely ?

Verdigris

I agree. (as long as your kit is reasonably modern)

[Deleted User]

MouldyOldDough said:

So let's all agree that the advice not to leave things on standby is incorrect and out of date ?

Modern equipment is so efficient on low power that it makes NO sense to switch it off completely ?

Devices you don't use regularly can be stood down when not in use but certainly for smart connected devices it doesn't make sense to power them off completely as they loose connection to the internet.