Re: HDTV phantom power drain

On May 7, 8:37=A0am, Steve Urbach <dragonsc...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
wrote:
 > On Wed, 07 May 2008 08:10:39 -0400, Agent_C <Agent-C-hates-
s...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
 > wrote:
 >
 > >I think FAR too much is made of this tiny trickle of power they
 > >consume while not in use, and it's often grossly overstated. For
 > >example, I read in a brochure from Con Edison, that some
appliances
 > >use 'as mush as 25%' of their power while not in use; that's just
 > >patently false and misleading.
 >
 > I suspect the TV ad's I have seen are some of the worst possible
cases :/
 >
 > Have you bothered to measure your stuff?
 > Believe me, there is stuff at both ends of the % of in normal use
scale for
 > stuff that is "OFF" or standby.
 > =A0Is it warm after long periods of non-use is a clue that power is
being
 > dissipated.
 >
 > 1) Wall warts never turn OFF, so if each one drew +only+ 1 Watt in
idle mode,
 > That is 24 watt hours EACH or a roughly a KWH every 40 days. NB
Really cheap
 > ones (containing cheap Iron transformers) idle at 3 to 5 Watts.

I have my doubts about 3-5 watts. That 'much' power in a small box
such as the wall wart would get pretty hot. Check the heat from a 4
watt night light.

 > 2 Having a AC power cord does not prove idle power efficiency. It
depends
 > where the "Power" switch" interrupts the power (and to *What*).
Some things
 > take the /easy way out/ and just blank the displays and indicators
 >
 > Add that there are probably some things you don't want to power off
fully
 > *ever*: Clocks, Security appliances, Freezers.
 > The biggest savings are for things that are not used for days at a
time.
 > If you are talking a few hours of OFF, then I think the extra
stress of
 > frequent cold starts is going to be more costly than the savings
potential
 > YMMV

Like the "Energy Star" monitor that has to be partially powered so
that is 'hears' the sync pulses to turn on for real. My first 4 PCs
actually went stone dead at power down.

GG