After an upsurge in my power consumption over the last few months I thought I'd better see about tracking down where it was going. I've got an inexpensive "power meter" that goes in-line and measures things like instantaneous, cumulative, and peak power usage, voltage, power factor, etc. I'd recently put in an AV receiver, so I thought I'd start with my HT set up. Everything goes to a zap catcher and from there via the meter to a power point. My total standby usage was about 65 W - high I thought. I did a systematic survey - here's how it breaks down: The zap catcher itself, and the ethernet switch - negligible, as expected. My Vu+ Duo PVR - 20 - 27 W (I keep this in a heightened state of readiness as I often access it via my LAN, so standby can use almost the same power as "on", which is about 27 W also; it's a bit variable depending on whether the internal disc is sleeping.) BDP - 3 W - higher than expected, but not outrageous VCR - 2 W - not bad for such an old machine Onkyo 609 - negligible ... but the kicker ... Panasonic 50V20 plasma - this is on standby mind you: 27 - 38 W! Even when I popped the power button - 27 W. All it should be doing is lighting one LED on the front panel, and keeping the remote receiver warmed up. 27 W. I checked the specs in the User's Manual: "Standby power consumption: 0.4 W". I don't think so, Panasonic. Would you believe 90 times that? Something seems very fishy here. Calling them wasn't too useful - a long wait listening to advertising, then a person who told me that their results were "lab tested", and I shouldn't trust my consumer-grade device which could show slightly more (Um, excuse me - how would an increase in 0.4W translate into a reading increase of nearly 40 W in a device that wasn't complete junk, and how is a 100-fold increase, "slight"?), who then transferred me to a person who wasn't there and whose voice-mail message said they wouldn't be back until November! I emailled them, but then I bethought myself of my GZ brethren (and sistren too). So, ranting aside, and seeking a reality check, does anyone else have a power meter and a 50V20 or similar who is willing to run a few tests to see if my results are typical? Maybe my set is faulty, or the technical specifications are at best, dubious, if not downright misleading, or maybe there is a "gotcha" - having a LAN cable plugged in, or a change in the current firmware that increased standby power usage beyond that with which the "official" testing was done, or something else. 27 W may still not seem like a lot, but compared to the 0.4 W specified, it would add $300 to my power bill at today's prices over a 5 year life span. Any input?
↧