Question Flipping PSU switch at night

[AirsoftingBee]

Hey, I have been turning off my PSU every night to save power, will that affect the longevity of components negatively/noticeably? Obviously, I am shutting windows down properly and giving it about 15 seconds or so after just to be safe. I don't mind the inconvenience of doing it, and although it is plugged into a surge protector, I still want to turn off the PSU every night.

 

[USAFRet]

"to save power "

How much power do you suppose this is consuming if the PC is 'off'?

Turn off the surge protector, not the PSU.

 

[clutchc]

Most PCs use ~ one watt when turned off. (at least mine do)
If that is all you are saving, it isn't worth it. But if you insist on switching off the PSU when not in use, I don't see any harm. I do that with my open-air rigs because I don't want something falling across the exposed circuits when not in use.

 

[ohio_buckeye]

Don't turn it off. Your motherboard has a cmos battery on it that may need that tiny bit of power to stay charged up. Just shut down your PC and be happy.

 

[AirsoftingBee]

"to save power "

How much power do you suppose this is consuming if the PC is 'off'?

Turn off the surge protector, not the PSU.

Why the surge protector over the PSU? Also my parents want me to because they're concerned about fire issues (lol) and power draw...

Most PCs use ~ one watt when turned off. (at least mine do)
If that is all you are saving, it isn't worth it. But if you insist on switching off the PSU when not in use, I don't see any harm. I do that with my open-air rigs because I don't want something falling across the exposed circuits when not in use.

My parents want me to keep it off when I'm not using it. I just shut it down at the end of the day. I want to make sure I'm not gonna cause the parts to break or whatever.

Don't turn it off. Your motherboard has a cmos battery on it that may need that tiny bit of power to stay charged up. Just shut down your PC and be happy.

Okay, that's a compelling reason, just out of curiosity how long does the CMOs battery last with no power?

 

[USAFRet]

Why the surge protector over the PSU? Also my parents want me to because they're concerned about fire issues (lol) and power draw...

To not wear out the physical switch on the PSU.

A PC when 'off' may actually consume ~1 watt.
In typical US electricity prices, at 18 hours per day...that equals about $0.75 per year.

Fire? Is everything else in the house unplugged? Stove, fridge, alarm clocks...

 

[cryoburner]

You're probably not going to save much more than a dollar worth of electricity over the course of a year by flipping the PSU switch after shutting down. Typically only a tiny amount of power is getting drawn by the motherboard when a modern PC is shut down.

 

[ohio_buckeye]

Not 100% sure on the battery. But if you're talking like 1 dollar per year, why worry?

 

[AirsoftingBee]

To not wear out the physical switch on the PSU.

A PC when 'off' may actually consume ~1 watt.
In typical US electricity prices, at 18 hours per day...that equals about $0.75 per year.

Fire? Is everything else in the house unplugged? Stove, fridge, alarm clocks...

Difference is I didn’t build the stove and alarm clocks lol. I’ll tell them it won’t cause a fire and the power draw is negligible.

Anyway I’ll just shut it down and not worry about it

 

[USAFRet]

Difference is I didn’t build the stove and alarm clocks lol. I’ll tell them it won’t cause a fire and the power draw is negligible.

Anyway I’ll just shut it down and not worry about it

The PSU gets the same safety certifications and testing your stove does.

Assuming, of course, a non-crappy PSU.
Some of those ARE fire hazards. But even those, turning it off an on all the time is worse, in that it will erode the switch contacts.

 

[jonnyguru]

Hey, I have been turning off my PSU every night to save power, will that affect the longevity of components negatively/noticeably? Obviously, I am shutting windows down properly and giving it about 15 seconds or so after just to be safe. I don't mind the inconvenience of doing it, and although it is plugged into a surge protector, I still want to turn off the PSU every night.

Does your motherboard have a bunch of RGB ** lit up even when it's in standby? If so, that can be disabled in the BIOS.

If your PC is truly "off" when powered down from Windows (i.e. no RGB ** ), you should really just leave the PSU on and NOT shut it off after you shut down Windows. You're not saving any power.

It's like turning your car off/on at every red light. It takes more gas to start the car than it does to leave it idle.

 

[USAFRet]

It's like turning your car off/on at every red light. It takes more gas to start the car than it does to leave it idle.

To be fair, that OFF/ON function is designed into some new cars.
A guy at work has a newish F-150 that does that.

 

[jonnyguru]

To be fair, that OFF/ON function is designed into some new cars.
A guy at work has a newish F-150 that does that.

No.. I know. I rented a Jeep Grand Cherokee that did the same thing. ** annoying.

 

[clutchc]

AirsoftingBee,
If your parents want it off, follow their advice. It's their house, they are probably paying the electric bill. You'll probably never convince them of it not being needed, so just do it. It's a very small hardship to have to live with.

 

[darknightbacca1]

Hey, I have been turning off my PSU every night to save power, will that affect the longevity of components negatively/noticeably? Obviously, I am shutting windows down properly and giving it about 15 seconds or so after just to be safe. I don't mind the inconvenience of doing it, and although it is plugged into a surge protector, I still want to turn off the PSU every night.

Not sure if the CMOS battery's longevity is affected if your PSU is unplugged / turned off, however personally i can tell you that i unplug my pc every night, due to lots of storms in my area currently, rather not risk it to be honest.

Point is other than the CMOS battery, i don't see how the rest of your components would be negatively affected from being unplugged... but i'm not sure man, do what you will.

 

[clutchc]

No.. I know. I rented a Jeep Grand Cherokee that did the same thing. ** annoying.

My '05 Trailblazer does that too. 😉 But it's because the engine dies.

 

[Gfost73]

the average lifespan of a CMOS battery is 3-5 years.. unplugged and left alone. Ive had motherboards Ive stored for years , rebuild the system and the Bios still had proper date etc.. They last quite awhile as the power draw from CMOS is very tiny.. not to mention the fact you can buy 3 at a dollar store for a buck.. just make sure that it is CR2032 3v

 

[clutchc]

the average lifespan of a CMOS battery is 3-5 years.. unplugged and left alone. Ive had motherboards Ive stored for years , rebuild the system and the Bios still had proper date etc.. They last quite awhile as the power draw from CMOS is very tiny.. not to mention the fact you can buy 3 at a dollar store for a buck.. just make sure that it is CR2032 3v

+1^
A coin battery like a CR 2032 will have nearly its whole shelf life available when used to simply keep the CMOS refreshed.