Do you turn your power bar off at night?

The computer is hooked into a surge protector power bar.  I was always taught that the safest way to protect against surges is to turn both the computer and the power bar off when not in use.  This also reduces phantom load on the system which can actually add up to quite a bit.

But recently I heard that we should never turn this power bar off.

So what do you do?  



Is there a reason why do one or the other?  

I use a surge suppressor power console.(outlet strip with individual switches basically)  I started doing it because computer power switches often failed and in all the early computers I could change the BIOS settings so the computer powered on automatically when it got power so I never used the power button on the computer for the most part.  During 2 decades I always powered off.  Then I got a computer that I had to use the switch for because I could not change BIOS setting so I had to power it on always via the switch.  So I reduced turning power off.   Then my ISP changed systems and now it takes about an hour to connect to ISP each time so anymore I never power down for the most part simply because it takes to long to reconnect.

John leaves his on, because it's a surge protector. I guess, in theory, the best surge protection is to actually unplug - but, the reboot time is so pokey, he doesn't have that much patience.

I do not turn my laptop bar off, I totally unplug the desktop from the power bar (technically it's on a UPS, but same idea) every time I power it down.
They are on separate systems, and nothing hooks to both of them unless I  have a transfer cable run between them that I remove after use.
This rental has grubby power, brownouts are common, there are several a week, the power has dropped totally many times, I have never seen surge problems here though.

The Laptop bar doesn't get shut off, it's on a good surge bar. The laptop has a battery, if it drops power, it's okay. The printer is on the same bar, it has issues, and it's a PITA to power it back up every time it loses power. The other things on that bar are all tough and I'm not worried about them. I

My desktop computer I REALLY DO NOT want to lose to power issues. It's on a UPS, I totally unplug every single cord every time I shut it down. The UPS is a surge too, as well as backup battery. I still don't trust it to always do what I expect. I unplug all of the wires because the whole system is wired together, a surge will run from one thing to another down the connection cables too.

So one of each! The laptop is less likely to have problems and more expendable, and on many more hours a month, it's my casual use machine. The desktop is only on when I'm using it, which isn't casually, it's my graphics machine. I consider it non-expendable, as it has software it runs that I like, but it's also older and pissier, and more likely to take damage if it takes a hit or a drop the UPS doesn't handle correctly.

I normally use an ipad. When I do use something attached to the power bar, I unplug the power bar.

I live in a place with brownouts, surges, and the occasional lightning strike. I have everything plugged into a no-break battery bank.

Because of the power issue I've switched from desktop machines to fancypants laptops (this buys me a bit more time beyond the power bank- the batteries don't live long and they're $$$$$ to replace; if power is going to be down for more than half an hour I generally go work somewhere else, and take my computer with me) and I never, ever keep the laptop plugged in while it's not in use.
Reading this I realize I sound totally neurotic but after 15 years here I've only lost a few routers to lightning/power surges, I'd rather keep it that way.

Without knowing if the switch is before or after the surge protector circuit, it's impossible to say if there is any phantom current drawn.

By far the safest bet is to pull the plug out of the wall.

All that being said, I generally only bother to switch off the power at the wall over the weekends. But I have a laptop, which is highly unlikely to be damaged by power problems.

As much as possible, I flip off the powerbars. Since I have many laptops (of various ages), the risk of a battery fire is always on my mind. Shutting off the charger saves phantom energy, especially with old power supplies, and reduces the risk. It also gives me a physical 600 volt surge protection across the switch (the rating of most switches) which is worth my effort.

Was anyone else a little confused by the title at first?  Maybe it's a regional colloquialism.  

LOL, I didn't know the original Power Bars were still available! They were the backpacker's friend, and much metter than all the fru-fru new versions. Though the originals turned to rock hard toffee when the temperature dropped below 10C, and you had to shatter them with an axe before eating. But I would buy them in a second!

Note: Do not try to eat electrical power bars, even when unplugged. Also, do not shatter with an axe to make them more edible.

I turn off the inverters for the night, so there is no A/c electricity for anything until morning.

Any thoughts if it would hurt a UPS to be turned off at night (all the electronics plugged in would be turned off so there's no draw)?

My guess is, it would be fine.
But others may know for sure.

I'm kind of in-between. One computer's power bar is always on. It's hard to access, and my computer is reeeeeeeally slow to boot up. If the power is flickering, I will just turn the computer off, but not the power strip. It does have a serge protector, which should help keep it safe when power goes on and off due to power outages.

The other computer has it's modem plugged directly into the wall. But, it's screen (which is a gigantic TV screen) is on a power strip. That power strip is shared with a whole bunch of game consoles and an old, tiny VHS-playing TV. I usually flick that power strip off when we're not using it. BUT! For like 4 months, my husband had limited mobility due to massive joint inflammation. To make it easier on him, I stopped turning off the power strip every night & when we're not using it, so he wouldn't have to bend over.

This thread is a great reminder for me to get back in the habit of turning it off when we're not using it, and saving some electricity. My husband is doing better now, so I don't think it'll be a huge hassle for him to turn it on anymore...at least, I hope so! I'll find out in the morning when he wakes up and goes to use the computer!

r ranson wrote:Any thoughts if it would hurt a UPS to be turned off at night (all the electronics plugged in would be turned off so there's no draw)?

I think it would depend on the model, but the APC I once used has a press-and-hold option to turn the unit's output  completely off. The charging circuit for the internal battery was probably still active though.

I only turn off my PCs when I'm moving them.

I really don't know if it is best to turn them off or leave them on so I leave them on but I don't like the electricity they consume.  Fortunately I do have them set to go into low power mode.

R, previously you mentioned that your computer uses 700 watts.  Is that your power supply or did you actually measure that amount.  I bought a 650 watt power supply for my computer when I built it, but that was intentionally meant to be overkill.  I have measured my power consumption and it is under 200 watts and that is with 3 screens running!

When it idles for the night it uses less power still.

Eric

Eric Hanson wrote:I really don't know if it is best to turn them off or leave them on so I leave them on but I don't like the electricity they consume.  Fortunately I do have them set to go into low power mode.

R, previously you mentioned that your computer uses 700 watts.  Is that your power supply or did you actually measure that amount.  I bought a 650 watt power supply for my computer when I built it, but that was intentionally meant to be overkill.  I have measured my power consumption and it is under 200 watts and that is with 3 screens running!

When it idles for the night it uses less power still.

Eric

The power supply can handle 700 W.  I expect as I upgrade the computer over the next few years, I'll be getting pretty close to that amount.

Plus I haven't been able to find any energy star monitors that will fit my budget or needs for when I upgrade that.  

I've ordered the Engery Saver kit from the library and should get it in a few days.  This has a gadget for measuring actual use which I can use.

We unplug whole surge protector from the wall, but leave the plugs plugged in. Is that not ok in some way?

Joy Oasis wrote:We unplug whole surge protector from the wall, but leave the plugs plugged in. Is that not ok in some way?

I was wondering that too.  I haven't heard of this being wrong, but maybe modern electronics aren't used to being without power?  

The only issue I imagine is that the plug can wear coming in and out of the wall.  either the plug on the end of the cord or the holes in the wall.  

I've been thinking of installing plugs with switches like they have in the UK for this kind of thing.  

I've never heard of turning it off to increase surge protection. If I'm really worried about surges (say a thunderstorm is coming) I'll turn off and unplug everything. Most of the time it just stays on though.

Last vote in apple poll was on October 2, 2022

My computer stays on 24-7 and has for about thirty years.  Because of that, I've only had to change the BIOS battery once.  And: the first computer got replaced because there were better options out there;  the second got replaced because though it ran faster than most 486's, it reported as a 386, so programs would not load and I had to replace it to upgrade to programs with more capability; the next only made it about ten years and died, majorly.

An upside of leaving electronics on is, less heating and cooling and wear and tear from it.  A downside is, it does consume electricity. For example, when my office was downstairs of a house with an uninsulated basement, leaving two computers on 24-7 kept the office room comfortable. Shutting them off required heating the room to remain in it. It's amazing what a couple one hundred fifty watt power supplies and a couple of the old, CRT type monitors did for keeping the room warm.

Now days, many power supplies consume even more wattage, but monitors far less.

All that aside, surge suppressors can take only so many hits and they may still provide power, but without the protection.

If everything on a power bar is off, the suppressor should have any voltage-amperage running through it, so it shouldn't suffer damage.

Just shutting off a computer via a power bar is, essentially, crashing it.  It can result in lost strings and other computery-ish things that will, at some point, have to be cleaned up.