Death of the On/Off Switch

[thewind21]

Just bought a new speaker system for my Ipod and it's another new tech product I've bought that only has a button to put it onto standby instead of being completely off.

Also noticed a lot of new TVs are the same. Does anyone know if there is a reason for this? I always was told that things being on standby still uses 50% of the power it uses while on. Don't want to waste money but can never be bothered shifting furniture to turn things off at the plug

 

[Heath]

Items that have a standby mode usually do so in order to be able to respond to thing like remote controls when 'off'. This allows you to turn things on with a remote control.
The figure of 50% is high though, I think it's much lower, around 5%.

 

[JNB]

Most empirical studies have found that it's more like 5%-13% of total usage in standby. Recent state-level legislation (in CA) and federal Executive Orders (covering US Gov't purchases) are mandating a <1W standby power draw. The newer the appliance, the better it's likely to be.

I'd say that if you'll be using the device frequently (several times a week), then leaving it in standby will outweigh any losses from coming up from a "cold" state. If you're going to be gone from it more than a week or so, then unplugging may be in order.

The problem with fractional savings on this order is that the cost to track & manage them is generally more than the savings involved. YMMV.

 

[Tallest Skil]

The figure of 50% is high though, I think it's much lower, around 5%.

The Apple TV uses around 40% of On power while it's sleeping.

 

[GoCubsGo]

snip empirical ...snip other crap.

My what big words you have.

 

[JNB]

My what big words you have.

That's about all I have left that is big anymore.

Other than my ego, of course.

 

[Michael CM1]

The lack of a power button on Apple TV REALLY bugs me. It seems to run really hot and, well, I just don't use it every hour so as to justify it being in any sort of "on" setting for as much as it is.

I don't buy computer speakers anymore that don't have volume, power, and other (bass, treble) controls on the darn things themselves. I really don't want to be messing with anything on a subwoofer.

Luckily, I haven't seen any TVs without power buttons like you're talking about. That sounds just plain crazy to me -- about as much as not being able to turn off the PS2 with that remote Sony made for it years ago. Thank goodness Nintendo lets you turn off the Wii with the remotes. I just hope the PS3 and Xbox 360 are in the same boat.

 

[204467]

My what big words you have.

The better to...speak you with? Ha. I really don't know what I'm saying sometimes.

 

[bijou]

Just use a power strip with an on/off switch.