Turning electrical things "off"

Posted by: Kev Powell on 25 April 2013

I have just acquired a UnitiQute to act as a streamer/pre-amp. Works fine and sounds really good.

 

However it has no "Standby" mode and according to the manual uses 25 watts when "Quiescent". To me that's a lot of wigleys over 365 days (just over 218kWh). At current cost this in the region of £30 a year for something doing nothing, so I turn it off after use. When I mentioned this to a colleague at work he got a bit agitated about that and said I should always leave it powered up, but his reasons sounded a bit vague.

 

Would anyone like to comment one way or another?

 

Kevin.

 

P.S. My TV only uses "less than 1 watt" in standby mode so what on earth are the 25 watts doing?

 

Posted on: 29 April 2013 by d90myg
For completeness, he wasn't averse to the thing being left on all the time. And some of the more complex Naim setups do take longer to settle down electrically so there seems to be a case to be made either way in some instances as per Claus' message.
 
Originally Posted by Kev Powell:

d90myg,

 

That's exactly the sort of information I was hoping for! Thanks very much. It also sort of explains why there is an on/off switch in the first place.

 

It's a small box and the back is a bit crowded, so I was surprised there is a switch, unless, of course it's for routine use. But you never really know until you ask!

 

Thank you all.

 

Kevin

Posted on: 29 April 2013 by Kev Powell

d90myg,

 

I know that some top end Hi Fi manufactures recommend leaving kit on for various reasons, and there maybe Naim stuff for which this is an advised strategy. However, I 'only' have the Qute, which I'm quite impressed with. Hence my original query related to the Qute only.

 

Thanks,

 

Kevin

Posted on: 29 April 2013 by jfritzen

First things first: Get a new fridge, replace light bulbs with energy saving ones, replace your ancient power hungry PC with a low consumption NAS, get an LED TV etc. And then worry about the Naim kit.

Posted on: 30 April 2013 by Kev Powell
Originally Posted by jfritzen:

First things first: Get a new fridge, replace light bulbs with energy saving ones, replace your ancient power hungry PC with a low consumption NAS, get an LED TV etc. And then worry about the Naim kit.

But if you've already done all that............

Posted on: 30 April 2013 by James L

Biggest power saving I've ever achieved was with the purchase of a stove with an induction cooktop. Next biggest was moving to CFL's. These changes will offset the HiFi consumption by many many decades.

 

Idle consumption of Naim gear is at the lower end for HiFi equipment (eg vs Class A and tubes). While I turn lights off whenever I leave the room, I'm happy to leave the rack powered-up 24/7. However if I'm away for more than one night, I flick the circuit breaker. This is more for safety than consumption issues.

Posted on: 30 April 2013 by jfritzen
Originally Posted by Kev Powell:
Originally Posted by jfritzen:

First things first: Get a new fridge, replace light bulbs with energy saving ones, replace your ancient power hungry PC with a low consumption NAS, get an LED TV etc. And then worry about the Naim kit.

But if you've already done all that............

Then worry about the Naim kit .

 

But compared to other hifi brands I think with Naim equipment you are still on the low side of the

power consumption.