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Possible stupid TV question

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Possible stupid TV question

Old 05-22-03, 12:08 PM
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Possible stupid TV question

Please excuse me if this has been discussed before....

But...what is worst for your television??

Turning it on and off 3-5 times a day???

or

Just leaving it on for an extended amount of time?

I am referring to regular picture tube tvs..but I guess good to know for plasmas and Digital sets....

TIA for any help!
Old 05-27-03, 06:15 PM
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no one knows what is better for a tv? hmmm...or peeps just ignoring the post....
Old 05-27-03, 06:35 PM
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Well, IMO, any time you turn something on the electrical surge could possibly make something go haywire. 3 - 5 times a day doesn't sound excessive. 30 times an hour might be.

Leaving the TV on for long periods of time (you didn't specify how long) is only bad if there is a static picture where burn-in could possibly occur. As long as you're watching TV normally (as opposed to "abbey normally") the set itself should be fine.
Old 05-27-03, 10:56 PM
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For electronics like receivers, dvd players, computers it is better to run the unit instead of turning it on and off numerous times a day. Almost all electronics have circuitry that will reduce the power consumption drastically when it detect nothing happening for a period of time.

BUT when it comes to TV's the negatives of turing it on and off are not nearly as bad as the wear on the CRT's (tubes) that occur with running the TV all the time instead of turing it off when not in use! CRT's only have a finite life to them and each hour it's left on not being watched is another hour that the CRT's will start to wear and lose the light output it has.
Old 05-29-03, 03:40 PM
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Most electronics, TVs included, use a small amount of electricity even when off (but still plugged in) to keep the circuits active. This was originally done for "instant on": to avoid long warm up times. But I believe that it also serves to extend the life of the electronics. In addition, it allows units to be turned on by a remote control.

Because the device is not being fully turned off, the wear and tear of shutting it down is less than it would otherwise be and it is not necessary to leave devices on all the time. My understanding is that the notion that leaving computers on all the time is better for them is a myth. But most computers have a sleep mode that saves electricity when they are left on; in effect, they shut themselves off.

For TVs, the wear and tear on the CRT greatly outweighs any benefits of leaving it on when not in use. A TV should be able to be cycled on and off thousands of times.
Old 06-02-03, 08:27 AM
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[A bit more about standby power usage.]

This article from Discover, December 2002, discusses how much power is used to keep all our devices in standby mode.

Wasting Away on Standby
Switching off your VCR, TV, and other household electronics doesn't really stop the power drain--it just places the devices on standby, ready to spring to life when you touch the remote. And the amount of electricity these devices devour while napping is staggering. Alan Meier of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has found that VCRs and DVD players draw 93 per cent of their total power usage while inactive. Answering machines and cordless phones are worse--98 percent of their overall electricity consumption occurs while they're idle. When Meier combined that data with patterns of typical use, he found that roughly 6 percent of residential electricity powers electronics that are turned off. only about 4 percent is consumed while the devices are on. Other devices, such as microwave ovens and garage-door openers, drive the percentage of the idle-time electricity usage even higher. The federal government does not require manufacturers to label standby power usage on their appliances, but the lavoratory has created a Web site listing devices that draw less than 1 watt of standby power ( http://standby.lbl.gov/DATA/1Wproducts.html ). In 2001 President Bush issued an executive order mandating that federal agencies buy only low-standby appliances.
--Rachel Moeller Gorman

[Figure]: Standby energy consumed by household electrical appliances:
Home Office 44%
TVs 10%
VCRs/DVDs 12%
Audio 19%
Cable Boxes 7%
Telephony 8%


While switched off, home electrical devices consumed 71 terawatt-hours in 1999. The breakdown is shown above.

Because of this, and for extra lightning protection (a risk where I live), I keep most electronic devices (including computer and Home Theater stuff) turned off at the power strip/surge protector. But not TVs and VCR (it needs to be able to record), if those are zapped by lightning my insurance will have to cover it. Whether I am shortening the life of the devices by turning them on "all the way" once a day is hard to say. If there are any experts out there I'd like to hear from them.

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