how many of you have your AV stuff plugged into a power strip and turn it off when not in use?

[BlahBlahYouToo]

we all know how much electricity it draws while not in use.
i'd like to start plugging it all into a power switch and flicking it off when done watching tv, but there's a couple things i can't stand.

1. obviously the inconvenience of turning it off/on
2. every time i do this, my plasma tv makes a 'click' noise which i'm not sure whether its doing any harm to it or not

 

[herm0016]

i have a bank of switches in my audio rack that i have everything on. the click is just a relay, don't worry about it.

 

[potato28]

I have it plugged into a power bar, but why would I turn off the power bar?

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

Originally posted by: potato28
I have it plugged into a power bar, but why would I turn off the power bar?

to save electricity which means saving $$$?

a home theather probably draws something like 50 watts or more, even when all the components are shut off on standby.

 

[nsafreak]

I have it plugged into a surge protector but turn it off every time I'm done using it? No thanks. My DVR loses its memory for guide data when I do that and it takes a while to recover all of the data. The amount of juice that it uses in standby is so minimal why bother? I'm fairly certain that when the stuff is off it does not draw 50 watts or more but I haven't purchased a Kill-a-watt meter to find out what the draw is precisely.

 

[darkswordsman17]

Yeah, quite a bit of things lose their settings if they do a hard shutoff (no power at all). This wouldn't be too bad if you have a nice learning remote (although I don't know if it would be able to have everything remedied on the fly).

The other issue is warm-up. Some equipment does not perform to its proper level until its been on for a bit (CRTs, tube amps, etc). Obviously the average home theater equipment it won't make much difference, but its something to consider.

Now if a universal remote would be able to set things up quickly, it would probably make sense to shut things completely down when you're at work or gone for a good while, but in general I don't know that it will make too much difference.

I know that some Europeans were making a big deal about people putting things into standby and not turning them completely off. I don't know about over there, but I think people just putting things in standby would make a big difference based on what I've seen. Plenty of people leave their computers fully on for pretty much the entire day. It would be nice to see companies design products to be able to keep settings and things and have varying levels of standby (say a soft one for when you'll be using it just a little bit later, and then a deep one for when you're at work). Of course that would probably add too much cost considering that the average person buys low quality items.

 

[Modelworks]

There are better ways to save money on electricity in the home than worrying about the little amount electronics use when on standby.
Programmable thermostats, better insulation, change hot water temp, light bulbs.

Lots of electronics lose settings when they are unplugged.
I'm not willing to cut on and off a power strip before I can use a remote to turn on my tv, stereo, etc.

 

[spidey07]

I haven't turned off some of my stuff in years. Last time I turned it off was a water induced panic.

 

[Oyeve]

Originally posted by: spidey07
I haven't turned off some of my stuff in years. Last time I turned it off was a water induced panic.

Hehehe! Been there myself!

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

Originally posted by: nsafreak
I have it plugged into a surge protector but turn it off every time I'm done using it? No thanks. My DVR loses its memory for guide data when I do that and it takes a while to recover all of the data. The amount of juice that it uses in standby is so minimal why bother? I'm fairly certain that when the stuff is off it does not draw 50 watts or more but I haven't purchased a Kill-a-watt meter to find out what the draw is precisely.

Digital video recorders and cable/satellite converter boxes are among the most profligate. These devices, known as "set-top boxes," draw a constant 30 or more watts of power, says Noah Horowitz, a senior scientist with the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC), an environmental advocacy group in San Francisco. By contrast, refrigerators draw only 40 watts.

 

[Tiamat]

I just bought a Kill-a-watt.

With all items powered down in standby mode, the rack draws 22 watts. Thats about 16kwh per month, not going to make much of a difference to your electric bill at all.


For example...
My idle computer uses 150 watts (5 year old athlon box).
My refrigerator uses 150 watts continuous.