Any device that we have connected to electricity will consume light and, therefore, will contribute to the total cost of the bill. What device do we always have on? Sure enough, the router. To see how far you can have a noticeable consumption in the total each month, I have decided try turning it off overnight. My goal has been to compare how much you spend and see if it’s really worth it or not.
Is it worth turning off the router at night?
In my case, what I have done is turn it off for two nights in a row, to have more accurate results. I have done for 8 hours, when he had nothing else on compared to other days. Therefore, the only difference has been turn off the router of electricity during that time and see what expense I have had.
to know the exact cost per hour, you can see it through the application or website of the electricity company you have contracted, but also the distributor (such as Endesa or Iberdrola). These are data that you will always have available and you can consult at any time. It is useful to analyze consumption, for example for tests such as turning off the router one night and seeing how much light it saves.
What results have I obtained? The difference has been, on average, 153 Wh less consumption during those 8 hours. That is, about 19.12 Wh for each of the hours that it was off. If we took it to the whole month, to turn it off 8 hours a night for 30 days, we would be talking about 4.5 kWh.
Logically this is a test that I have done with my router, so it may vary depending on the model you have. Also if you have it plugged directly into electricity or into a power strip. But to give you an idea, in my case I would save 4.5 kWh each month if I decided to turn it off every night.
How much could you save per month on the bill? That will depend on what rate you have contracted. If you have time discrimination, at night you will pay much less so the savings will be less. In case you pay the same regardless of the time, the savings may be higher. If we take €0.20 per kWh as an example, you could save about €0.90. Therefore, it would not even reach a euro of savings. A year would be a little less than €11.
You can save more by turning off other devices
As you see, the saving by turning off the router every night It is not significant. Even if you have a device that consumes more electricity, you will not notice more than 1 or 2 euros per month. Now, you can take into account turning off other devices that could be contributing to phantom consumption and save something every month.
He phantom consumption It’s basically everything you have plugged into electricity and it’s consuming light even if you don’t use it. A clear example is the red LED on the television when it is in Stand By. Also other devices such as a video player, game console, etc. All of this, if you turn it off when you’re not using it, will help you save on your bill. Also, things like the microwave and your clock, for example, also consume.
It is estimated that the phantom consumption can come to suppose the 10% of total energy what we consume Therefore, trying to reduce or eliminate it completely could save us something significant each month. Think of a 10% discount on the total amount you spend. If you have a good Wi-Fi connection, you can always use smart plugs to control when they turn on or off. Sometimes you will have to install a Mesh system at home so that the signal reaches everywhere.
In short, as you can see, turning off the router at night can help you save some electricity and pay less on your bill, but the amount is very small. It is rare that you spend one euro of savings per month.
