[mythtv-users] Power Saving Frontend Ideas

[Rick Hudson]

On 14/04/2008 8:23 a.m., steve wrote:

> | DISAFAN wrote:
> |
> |> I'm curious for input on the issue of power saving in a frontend. What
> |> techniques people have used, setups, etc.
> |>
> |> Do you shutdown your frontend when not in use, put it in power-saving
> |> mode, leave it on?
> 
> other than the pennies it might save by turning it off or suspend, whats
> really the point....  everything of mine stays on 24x7.  it uses more
> power to turn everything back on than it does to keep it running,

That's a myth. To use so much power during startup that it's more efficient to 
leave it on would blow a fuse somewhere. It sounds just like the fluorescent 
lamp myth. Even if you draw 5x the running power for 5 seconds to start 
something up that's only the equivalent energy of running normally for 25 
seconds.

 > plus puts more stress on the components.

This one sounds like the filament lamp myth! Those always die on startup 
because it's the most stressful time for them but they do so after their life 
expectency regardless of how many times they have been started in the interim. 
Electronics components have a specified mean /time/ before failure (MTBF) and 
the number of current surges is not a factor provided they operate within 
their spec.

Sorry to ramble but this type of misinformation against switching things off 
just bugs me.

-- 
Rick Hudson
http://www.kpo.org.nz/                                        rick at kpo.org.nz