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Old 08-25-09, 10:08 PM   #7
NiHaoMike
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One easy trick to reduce standby power use of an old tube TV or monitor is to disconnect the degauss coil. Then manually degauss it by rotating a moderately powerful magnet (should stick well to a steel object but not take excessive force to remove) while slowly backing away from the screen.
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This isn't really a tip, but DVRs use a lot of power (50-100 watts) even when they are "off". There usually isn't much you can do about this.
Install a hardware power switch. Although my Samsung DVR only uses 9w (operating or not) and my Panasonic DVD recorder in standby uses too little to read on a Kill-a-Watt after I rewired the Nixie tube supply to only turn on when the recorder is on...
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Measure your subwoofer. Unless you manually flip a switch to turn it on, it probably uses 10-25 watts when it is "off". You can automagically cut the power to the sub when the stereo is off by using a "smart power strip" (like the SCG3, 4, or 5 -- amazon has them all, and the 3 is not always the cheapest one). Plug your receiver into the control outlet, and plug the sub into a switched outlet. That will reduce the power usage of the sub to 0 when it is "off" with no change in convenience (it will turn on automatically). However, some subs do make a noise when they turn on or off using this method -- my sub does, but I can live with it. Fancy home theater power centers can do switching like this, too.
Buy some used large speakers, get improved sound quality, and do away with the subwoofer. A pair of used 12" 3 ways from Salvation Army cost only $40 a pair (I also have a pair of 12" 2 ways for $20 and a pair of 4" 2 ways for $5) and go surprisingly well with a TI hybrid digital amplifier.
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Measure your receiver in the OFF/STANDBY state with the Kill-A-Watt. If it uses more than a few watts, try some settings changes or search the web for your receiver model for settings changes that will reduce the power usage. As an example, my receiver (Onkyo 805) uses about 2 watts in standby mode, but that shoots up to 70 watts in standby mode if you turn on the HDMI Control feature.
I wonder how it's using 70w in standby. Does it have a PC-like computer in it that stays running if the control feature is on? I'm thinking the GPU for the HDMI is left running, but I don't know why they would put something that runs so hot into an amplifier. It's definitely bad engineering. For comparison, my old 64-bit PC uses only about 80w when idling without PMS (Power Management System). With CPU frequency management, it goes down to 65w or less. (That includes the motherboard, CPU, hard drive, video card, sound card, digital TV receiver, IEEE1394, an extra network card, 2 optical drives, and some USB peripherals.) At least standby without control is much lower, but it's still twice what my homemade TI hybrid digital uses when *operating*.
http://ecorenovator.org/forum/applia...ome-audio.html
Which means that my old desktop computer (not originally designed for high efficiency, even!) and TI hybrid digital amplifier combined use less power than that amplifier when left idling. Or if I use my laptop (15w idling, 18-20w during typical use, 40-60w during intensive load), it would together use less than 1/3 the power! That 70w of waste in standby is quite a shame for something from a country that is supposed to be well known for high efficiency...
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To my surprise, shortly after Naomi Wu gave me a bit of fame for making good use of solar power, Allie Moore got really jealous of her...
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