Standby power consumption

MouldyOldDough

Coffeekup said:

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So let's all agree that the advice not to leave things on standby is incorrect and out of date ?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

For me it was worth it. The only concern for "low user's" like for me is the prices going up and so little appliances using so little energy  its harder to make cut backs on them.

I bet that you use more power than me?
My average electric use is 4kW per day - over 12 months 

Coffeekup

MouldyOldDough said:

Coffeekup said:

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So let's all agree that the advice not to leave things on standby is incorrect and out of date ?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

For me it was worth it. The only concern for "low user's" like for me is the prices going up and so little appliances using so little energy  its harder to make cut backs on them.

I bet that you use more power than me?
My average electric use is 4kW per day - over 12 months 

4.1 I averaged 2019-20/20-21.... this year now I've made cut the cut backs sept 21-22 will be around 3.2-3.3 per day.

Edit... I could also use less by downsizing my TV which will half the energy usage when it's on. Also buying on with freeview built in will free up my sky HD box which I need for a picture currently, again this will bring down my usage. This seems a waste getting a new one as I have a perfectly good working TV, and buying one under £500 will take 4-5 years to pay off from the energy savings.

wild666

Shedman said:

double_dutchy said:

wild666 said:

The figures quoted in manuals are not what the true figures are. I turn the TV, surround sound amp, PS4, Xbox and DVD player off at the socket when not in use. My weekly usage when I didn't turn them off it was around 40 kWh per week but since I started turning them off at the socket it's dropped to between 23 kWh and 26 kWh per week. A large drop fron 40 kWh previously used and a saving of around £170 per year on the electric bill.

Hello wild666, even assuming "only" a weekly reduction from 40 to 26 kwh per week that means that you are saving 14kwh per week (or 35% of your previous usage) just by not keeping appliances on standby.

26 kwh per week = 1352 kwh per year which is quite low, about 45% of average usage, do you live on your own or in a flat?

I must say I find wild666's frequently repeated claims of saving 2+ kWh a day by switching things off at the socket a bit hard to believe. In order to achieve that they must either have the oldest most energy inefficient devices going or have had them on 24/7 previously and now only switch them on for 30 mins a day or something equally extreme (like switching the fridge and freezer off).   I've got loads of electrical and smart home gadgets (incl 7 Echos, numerous smart bulbs, dvds, freeview HD box, AV surround system, TVs etc etc) and use several energy measuring devices to check consumption. If I were to turn absolutely everything off (excluding fridges, freezers and the like) at the socket I might get up to a reduction of 60-75 watts so if I left them off all the time then I could possibly get up to 2kWh in total but not much point in having them if they are always off....

Still if that's wild666's empirical findings then fine and good luck to them but I remain skeptical.

Shedman most of the appliance I have are nowhere near the latest models except the TV it's a 2020 model bought in December 2019 or so the Amazon site said, it was a black Friday deal. 
To save the 2 kWh+ I turn off everything I'm not using except the fridge, freezer and router plus I have most appliances running through a surge protector that can turn each individual appliance off and if all the appliances on the surge protector are off I also turn that off at the socket.
The two desktop PC's I have use most of the daily usage. A third of my usage is done by washing and drying clothing and bedding. I use a little bit more than the 1352 kWh in your post as I have a PS 4 and an Xbox series X that I also use about twice a week for a few hours and that makes the usage around 1600 kWh per year about half of the average use they say for electric plus my gas usage is about 12.5% of the average 12,000 kWh. Since the 12th my kWh gas usage has increase by 0.114 of a unit as I use a hot water bottle if I need one, that is because I have the temperature for hot water set to 49 degrees and 52 for heating when the daughters are down as they don't like the place to be cold.

alanwsg

wild666 said:

 I have the temperature for hot water set to 49 degrees and 52 for heating when the daughters are down as they don't like the place to be cold.

Err, if you have a hot water cylinder (As opposed to combi boiler), you're pushing your luck with those temperatures. Should be at least 60C

https://www.hse.gov.uk/healthservices/legionella.htm

QrizB

alanwsg said:

wild666 said:

 I have the temperature for hot water set to 49 degrees and 52 for heating when the daughters are down as they don't like the place to be cold.

Err, if you have a hot water cylinder (As opposed to combi boiler), you're pushing your luck with those temperatures. Should be at least 60C

Wild666 is a combi boiler owner.

PGammage

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 ?

If you have the absolute latest and greatest maybe. However how many of those struggling with the impact of the energy bill crisis actually have the latest and greatest. And if they do make a purchase, that purchase is usually driven by purchase price, and guess what - the most highly performance rated devices are the most expensive. So you end up with a situation that their devices aren’t always efficient and are left on standby (or just left on) and end up consuming cost without being fully aware.

The simplest answer is see what’s plugged in and switched on and if it’s not actively being used switch it off (ie house alarm - on all the time but only activated for small periods of time, house radio plugged in switched to cd but not playing, the list goes on).

Chrysalis

Some power devices are less efficient at low loads, e.g. most PC psu's have really bad efficiency at under 100w, one recent PSU that came out barely 50% efficient at 30w load.

Mstty

Since joining this forum I have introduced my partner to also start turning things off and being a little more energy conscious.

Silly things like TV on in the background well we put the iPad pro on instead much less power usage.

Turning things off of a night and leaving other things completely off til required.

Batch cooking when using the oven making sure all r rungs have food on them for later that week

Microwave for re heating

But we have to wait until July to realise our savings as that will be our first year in this property. Hoping it's a decent chunck👍

matelodave

alanwsg said:

wild666 said:

 I have the temperature for hot water set to 49 degrees and 52 for heating when the daughters are down as they don't like the place to be cold.

Err, if you have a hot water cylinder (As opposed to combi boiler), you're pushing your luck with those temperatures. Should be at least 60C

https://www.hse.gov.uk/healthservices/legionella.htm

This is HSE info for public buildings and specifically care homes, not your average 2up/2 down. You don't need to store water at 60 degrees, in fact heating it to 60 one hour once a week or less is more than sufficient.

We heat our hot water to 45 degrees with a one hour boost to 60 once a week. I'd even suggest that a non-vented hot water cylinder fed directly from the mains supply probably doesn't even need that, as it's got a reasonable throughput of fresh clean water which is usually fairly well chlorinated and chlorine kills legionella.

MouldyOldDough

Here we go again
BBC News - ‘Vampire devices’ cost UK households £147 a year

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-61235367 
Incorrect facts
I am surprised that it doesn't accuse the in home display of costing £12 per year to run
I mean that's almost £3 a week or 10kWh a week - way out!