Power consumption in standby mode

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NetTroller

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Our area is instituting "Time of Use" billing on our electrical, and our rate will almost doubles at certain times of the day...so I have to try and save where I can. I have replaced appliances and light bulbs to try and save a few bucks in the long run. I've read that these satellite receivers can be vampires on electricity when in standby mode.

My two receivers, a 3100 and 4700, I'm planning on putting on a power bar, along with tv etc, and powering off when we aren't home.

Is there any way I can ensure that I don't loose all my programming? I don't mind waiting 5 minutes after plugging it in ..waiting for it to *get* my programming back ...but I don't want to come home from work, plug it in and then find I have to wait hours, or worse yet, call customer service just to watch the news with my dinner?
 
If the receivers are off for less than 24 hours, there should be no problem with losing programming. If the receivers are off for several days, some channels may be unsubscribed. They will all be unsubscribed after about two weeks.

One way to ensure that programming is not lost is to use a timer or power bar with timer to turn the receivers on daily for a while.
 
I like your idea of a timer ...I will have to check out CTC to see whats available.Thanks for the suggestion!
 
Although every penny counts these days, you may simply want to investigate to see if it is really worthwhile to power them off completely. Althoguh I imagine they draw about as much as when "on" (since they are never really "off" unless power is physically remoed - which I know is what you are talking about) I can't see them sucking all that much, particularly the 3100 (since it is newer than the 4700) as it is a non-pvr, non-hd model.

It would be interesting to see some published usage/wattage numbers for these devices.
 
I agree with dosborne, the receivers are designed to run all the time. You might introduce new problems by power cycling them frequently.

-Mike
 
Here's a previous thread on parasitic draws. In post one I have the numbers for the SA3250HD and the SA8300HD - these are Rogers, not BTV units obviously, but should give an idea. More recent units seem to draw a bit less power as discussed in the thread. Other posts have other equipment numbers...

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=35430

Here's another thread on the topic - including discussion of powering down certain devices, possible harm, etc:

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=105375

As discussed above, frequent power downs may do more harm than good, especially with a PVR.
 
Wouldn't a timer use electricity, too?

If you start powering off (and on and off and on), you're going to have issues with software and the guide not downloading.
 
I have a 3100 and a 4700. Using a Kill-A-Watt plug-in power meter, each of them draw 13W, whether they are "on" or "off".

In Ontario, at an aggregate residential rate of $0.13/kWh, this represents an annual cost of about $15.
 
I have two different timers purchased many years ago - the type with the mechanical rotary dial. They both draw 3 Watts, even though they are quite different. It's possible that newer electronic timers could draw a bit less.
 
I have a energy meter from canadian tire. My tv/dvd/stereo/bell 9200 are plugged in the same power bar and 4 hours of night time use and 20hours stand by, i used .13 kwh per day. I was surprised how low that was but what was very surprising was the multi-switch power used .5kwh per day so it costs more to run that sucker.
 
My 9200 draws 32w on and 30w off. That works out to about 0.74kw/day. The power factor is 0.67. That brings the VA up to 48/46, or about 1.1 KVA/day.
 
My whole home theater system is connected to a big UPS (4 X 100ah batteries). 2 PVRs, 60" TV, 7.1 audio with 2 subs, computer etc. Using a power meter, I calculated about $140 of power a year. If and when "Time of Use" billing comes to my house I plan on putting the UPS on a timer. Off when the billing is high and recharging when billing is low.
 
The 9200 exceeds guidelines for device standby mode by over 300%. Those guidelines state that power draw devices in standby mode should not exceed 7w. The draw is even worse when the power factor is considered. At 46VA, the 9200 exceeds guidelines by 550%. To put it another way, each 9200 costs consumers up to $18 in power consumption per year (@$0.10/kwh) compared to devices that meet minimum guidelines. The power factor means that the power company must generate an extra $24 in electricity per year, $8 of which it does not collect due to mechanical meter shortcomings. When TOD use becomes effective and meters that can measure PF and calculate VA consumption are used, the annual cost could double to about $36. That's a potential extra $3/month just to keep a PVR running.
 
Again, some arithmetic errors. The cost for any user is about $1/year for each Watt used 24/7. So a 30 Watt device uses about $30/year at roughly $0.12/kWh (ballpark average for most provinces).

1 Watt x 24 hours/day x 365 days/year x $0.12/kWh / 1000W/kW = roughly $1/year. A very easy number to remember. In Quebec, electricity costs less so the number would be lower.

People need to learn to keep track of their significant digits. ;)
 
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