Mail Archives: opendos/2001/04/07/13:56:06
On 2001-03-29, Robert W Moss wrote:
This is going to be very off-topic, Iīm afraid, but I can no other
but comment on it... Sorry...
> AFAIK an internal modem uses no (minuscule) power unless it
> is turned on and you are on-line. External modems would only
> use 9 watts when you are using them on-line, otherwise they
> most likely use less then one watt of standby power.
Modems and most other external components are not the major
power consumers, of course, so at the first glance it might be more
important to have very good standby modes for monitors (standby/
suspend ca. 0,5-30W, in operation typically 100-200W), (laser)
printers (up to kilowatts when in operation), and the computer itself
(typically 150-300W in operation), but since there are so many
other small devices in standby or suspend mode all the time
(VCRs, hifi equipment, TV sets, radio clocks, phones, answering-
and fax-machines, active loudspeakers, ...), their total power
consumption *is* significant. In Germany we say: "Kleinvieh macht
auch Mist." ("Even small cattle produces some manure.") Also,
these small devices usually have extremely inefficient transformer
power supplies, and often no true mains switch any more.
> With computer prices being as low as they are, and big businesses
> replacing all of their work stations after three years, it doesn't make
> sense to most of the bean counters to worry about saving money by turning
> off the complete system when you are not using it. Most IT managers in
> large Corporations just tell every user to turn it on in the morning and
> off when you go home, just logging off of the network when you leave your
> work station.
Even worst, recently I had a discussion with someone in our datacenter who
asked me not to switch off the computer and monitor over night because he
was afraid, it could get damaged. He stated, that the monitor (a five year old
quality 15" model) would go into suspend and only the LED on the front
panel would continue to dim. It was very difficult to convince him that
he was wrong, because he couldnīt follow me, as he had no imagination
whatsoever of the inner components of a CRT... Only after I brought in
a meter to actually measure the power consumption in suspend mode he
suddenly became quiet: That monitor took 37 W in suspend mode, even
more than I had expected! Even today most monitors take at least 5 W
in suspend mode, Eizo/Hitec monitors are one of the few exceptions
I am aware of with just 0,5 W. Unfortunately, there are many people
out there without even a basic knowledge of electrical engineering...
(Just check it out yourself, a simple meter will give you a good
approximation, but for accurate results you will need a true RMS
meter. You can also ask your power provider to lean you a
power monitor plug for a symbolic fee, so you can get a better
picture of the true power consumption of all the devices in your
office or household. You can also get them in most electronics
shops, but make sure you get one that has a resolution of at least
1 W and is able to measure downto 1 W, otherwise itīs useless
when you want to measure in standby or suspend modes.)
Of course, it *will* damage a desktop computer or a CRT monitor
if you permanently switch it on and off every few minutes, but if
you switch it on/off in terms of hours, thereīs no recognizable
shortage in its operating life (even if you speak of 5-10 years).
In this respect there even isnīt much difference between going
into suspend mode or completely disconnecting the mains.
> This works great in the USA, until this year, especially
> in California, where the electric bills went up over 200%
> for a lot of people at home and more for businesses.
AFAIK the problem in California is that they have reached
the upper limit of what their power stations can provide,
rather than that they would force usage of regenerative
energy now. But otherwise:
Very good!!! Well, it shouldnīt be only a question of
money, but humans tend to start thinking only when it
hurts, and higher bills always hurt... It works with fuel
as well as with electricity. Nothing is moving without
any kind of pressure...
Not that we would not have similar acceptance problems
over here, but what you are describing is what many
Europeans view as "typical American donīt care attitude",
it is a pitty... Fact is, weīre all sitting in the same boat,
and we are *all* responsible for it, and these problems
can only be solved globally...
It took almost two decades, but quite many people over
here are "awake" now and are actively trying to change it
to the better, while according to the news and various
discussions there appears to be still "deepest winter" in
the States, unfortunately - just thinking of the World Climate
Summitt...
This bill is just not balanced. With more than 6 billion humans
on this planet (and extrapolations for up to 12,5 billions in
about 200 years), we just cannot continue with hunting and
collecting (that is "consuming") like we did it for the past
few 100.000 years. It will come back to us (that is "humankind"),
and if not us, then at least our children will have to pay the
price for our ignorance.
For example, have you ever thought of the fact, that according
to the statistics (estimates from 1998) natural oil will be available
only for another 45 years on earth, already counting in new
deposits that still have to be found and an assumed progress
of efficiency in using it? Consider that humans use it for just
about one century now in contrast to the millions of years that
were necessary for it to develop. Well, natural gas and coal
will probably last a bit longer (65 years and ca. 200..500
years respectively), so this is nothing we should be worried
about, I guess, in particular since we have Uranum left for at
least 6.000..8.000 years... ;->
> When the cost of power goes up the ATX systems will
> come in handy when set properly to turn off or go on
> standby after a period of no activity.
>
> Ain't Technology Grand?
Am I missing a subtle kind of irony here?
Advanced *dynamic* power saving technologies in hard-
and software are a good thing in general to reduce the
overall power consumption of a device, but they a question
of smart ecologic design. I donīt think that it is a good
idea to leave an increasingly large number of devices
running in standby or suspend modes rather than actually
disconnecting the mains, when they are not used. When I
switch off my computer (non-ATX), it will consume 0,00
(in words: zero) Watt.
Just my opinion.
Matthias
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Matthias Paul, Ubierstrasse 28, D-50321 Bruehl, Germany
<Matthias DOT Paul AT post DOT rwth-aachen DOT de> <mpaul AT drdos DOT org>
http://www.uni-bonn.de/~uzs180/mpdokeng.html
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