Some of you may turn off your computer every night. But have you ever wondered if you need to turn off the router / modem provided by your provider to connect to the internet?
If you're trying to save money on your electricity bill, you might consider turning off your router / modem to connect to the internet when not in use.
But these machines do not consume as much energy as you think, and this can slow you down or cause problems in the future. See why.
Although everything is relative, routers do not consume
If you have worked with electrical or electronic products in the past, you may think that new machines consume a lot of power.
But most modern electronics are appliances that use a very small and reasonable amount of energy, which is almost negligible compared to high-energy appliances, such as microwave ovens or air conditioners.
For example, according to Synology, the RT2600ac router which is considered extremely reliable, uses about 10,8 watts of power when used and about 7,94 watts when idle. This is about 1/6 of the power consumption of a 60 watt incandescent bulb.
Now, if you have the Synology RT2600ac router on 24 hours a day, using 10,8 watts during business hours (say 12 hours) and 7,94 watts at idle (for another 12 hours), then it would use about 0,00937 kilowatt / hour on average.
Given the price per kilowatt hour for Greece, in October 2021 which was 0,11936 euros per kilowatt hour, this translates into an operating cost of 0,001113 € per hour, or if you want 0,026 € (3 cents) per day, or 0,80 , 9,66 € per month or XNUMX € per year. Sounds like a reasonable amount for a device that provides internet access throughout your home, doesn't it?
Unless you are of the opinion that "bean, the bean, fills the bag" and before going to sleep turn off anything that has a light bulb. For example, the TV since it consumes in stand-by mode. Ή the indicator lights and the electric cooker clock. Or the cordless phone. Or the light on the front doorbell.
If you do not have such obsessions, then we inform you that the cable modems provided by your provider use equally low amounts of power, so basically, you never have to worry about the cost of electricity for the continuous operation of a modem or a router / modem internet.
Can you save money by closing them? Yes, very little (80 cents a month, if you do not turn on your router for a whole month, according to our example or if you turn it off at night you will save 0,40 euros per month), but it may not be worth it if you consider its disadvantages of doing so, as we will see below.
They are designed to operate continuously
Routers / modem engineers plan to operate them 24 hours a day, 24 days a week, so that they are always available to provide you with internet access whenever you need it. As a result, some routers do not even have power switches, and you will need to unplug them to turn them off.
An important advantage of leaving a router constantly connected is that it is always ready for action. Once you disconnect (or disable) a router and turn it on again, the device will go through a boot process that may involve negotiating a new dynamic IP address with your ISP. The process can take several minutes before your internet access is ready for use again.
On the contrary, while there is a widespread consensus about the continuous operation of a modem, some people believe that the constant power supply of an electronic device may shorten its lifespan. The truth is that it strains its internal elements with the fluctuations in current and temperatures involved. Therefore, although they are made to withstand years of continuous use if you do not use them for a long time (months, years), then turn them off.
The convenience factor
Another problem with shutting down your router / modem, especially at night, is that it may interrupt any cloud-based automated backups that you have set up on your computer, smartphone, or tablet.
Some backup services, such as Apple iCloud for iPhone, wait for hours of inactivity to upload your data to Apple servers for safekeeping. It's a great time to do this while you sleep as you do not use your iPhone for other tasks.
So, unless you need to save € 11 a year, or if you do not intend to use your router for a long time, it is better to leave your router - modem constantly open. And enjoy the internet!
