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 don't consume that much energy όσο νομίζετε, και κάτι τέτοιο μπορεί να σας επιβραδύνει ή να προκαλέσει 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 electronic devices use a very minimal and reasonable amount of energy, which is almost negligible compared to high energy consumption devices 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 "a bean, a bean, fills the bag" and before going to sleep you turn off everything that has a light. Like for example the TV since it consumes even in stand-by mode. Or the indicator lights and the clock of the electric cooker. 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
Engineers who build internet routers/modems design them to work 24/24team, so they are always available to give you access to the internet whenever you need it. Therefore, some routers don't even have power switches and to turn them off you have to unplug them.
A major advantage of leaving a router connected all the time is that it is always ready for action. Once you unplug (or turn off) a router and turn it back on, the device will go through an initialization process that may include negotiating a new dynamic addresss IP from your ISP. The process may take several minutes before your internet access is ready to 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 με τον τερματισμό της λειτουργίας του δρομολογητή / μόντεμ σας, ειδικά τη νύχτα, είναι ότι μπορεί να διακόψει τυχόν αυτοματοποιημένα αντίγραφα ασφαλείας που βασίζονται σε σύννεφο και που έχετε ρυθμίσει τον υπολογιστή, το smartphone ή το tablet σας να πραγματοποιούνται.
Some backup services such as Apple iCloud for iPhone, they wait until idle hours to upload your data to Apple's servers for safekeeping. It's a great time to do this while you're sleeping since you're not using 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!
