Kitz Forum
Broadband Related => Broadband Hardware => Topic started by: bob.gas on January 16, 2017, 06:36:02 PM
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Just having a discussion on another website about whether to shut down a PC and Router at night b/4 bed.
So what's the opinion of the experts here?
I only shut down my PC.
Should I be leaving the router on?
Sorry if I'm going over old ground ::)
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I never turn mine off ...... and its on a UPS
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If you monitoring your line with DSlstats or HG612_Modem_stats then it would be good to keep the modem/router on 24/7, if your not doing the above then I see no reason why you would need to keep it powered on when you go to bed and did this when on ADSL but changed that habit when VDSL became available.
Even with VDSL circuit you can turn it off at bedtime 00:00 or thereabouts and turn it on again at 7 - 11am without any issues as long as someone in the household dos not need any access to the Internet between those off times.
As for saving electricity you would have a difficulty seeing the usage of the modem being on 24/7 or only 12 hours per day your talking about £5 or £6 per year.
So mode/router is 8 watts and left on for 24 hours = 192 watts X 7 days = 1,344 kilowatts (14.5 pence) for a month 1,344 x 4 = 5,376 kilowatts (58 pence) now for a year/annum 5,376 X 12 = 64,512 kilowatts = (£6.96)
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I never ever turn any of my kit off, PCs are on overnight. This gives them a chance to do things such as overnight software updates, disk maintenance, virus scans or scheduled backups at a time when it won't be an annoyance for the users. Doing software downloads overnight means there is no annoying network slowdown during the day.
(In my case, doing overnight downloads is 400 times cheaper than during daytime office hours in terms of network charges.)
A lot of pcs can go into a kind of low-power snooze mode that saves a huge amount of energy, turning off the display and spinning down any mechanical hard disk, but the machine can wake itself up on a timer or when the network card wakes it up.
Some PCs can go into an extremely deep sleep where the ram is dead and the processor is not running, but can be set to boot at a particular time of day such as in the early morning, which gives them a chance to get various chores done when no users are about. Dell machines can do this. This gives 100% power saving for the part of the night while it is "off". The only bit that is alive is the clock and a timer-controlled wake-up circuit.
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Thank you guys.
So I'll carry on as usual then....PC off, Router on :cool:
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Absolutely no need, and no gain, from turning your router off in my opinion. These are pieces of hardware designed to be run on a continuous basis. I also leave my PC running 24/7.
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Same as others, I leave everything on 24x7. PCs and laptops go into sleep/hibernate mode when not in use, the NAS spins down its disks and my server goes into a low power state when not in active use. The router, modem, AP and switch keep running but as others have pointed out, they use very little power and are designed for continuous operation.
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I never turn my router off.
I understand that with VDSL it would do no harm in terms of the line speed to switch it off at night, but why bother.
Will it last longer if you switch it off when not used? Maybe, maybe not would be my answer. Some electronic components certainly have a life (eg electrolytic capacitors) and could last longer the less they have power applied. Others will have their life shortened by the power cycles if you switch off every night. Its swings and roundabouts.
My PC is switched fully off at night but it would probably be just as good to put it to sleep instead. I wouldn't leave it on as it wastes power and it fills up with enough dusk already without having the fans running 24/7!
:)
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Providing circuitry is not running very hot, leaving electronics on continually has far less impact on the life of components than the heating/cooling cycles if it is repeatedly turned off.
Have you never noticed that electric equipment usually fails when it first turned on (or it was working when it was turned off and doesn't work when next turned on)? Simple example: how often have you had a light bulb go pop when you turn it on and how often have you had one go pop when it's been on for a while.
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Yes, good point Jelv :)
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on pc parts I reckon almost 100% of parts I have had fail have been on power cycles.