How much does it cost to leave my UPC box on

Brendan Burgess

Founder
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I want to timer record BBC Radio 4 Extra

I have a UPC Box and a Sony DVD Recorder.

I leave the UPC Box on set to BBC Radio 4 Extra.

I put the DVD Recorder on standby.
I switch the TV to standby.

If I put the UPC Box to standby, nothing is recorded.

The technical spec says the following:


Nominal Power Consumption: 40W max
Stand by Power consumption (passive) 20W max

So how how does that translate into money if I leave it on all the time? What is "40W" per week or month?
 
40W = 0.04kwhr = 0.04 units of electricity an hour X your unit cost.
 
Hi Sue

I had meant to ask that as well. I did ask the UPC guy if there was any danger from leaving it on, and he said that there was not. Mind you I have no trust in the UPC help desk who are brutal.

Brendan
 
It will not overheat. It will reach it's nominal temperature a few minutes after being on and stay at that temperature so it's irrelevant whether it's on for one hour or all the time.
 
Hi Wednesday

It's much simpler to record it. I then click on it without searching and listen back to it. I can listen to a bit of it and , the next time pick up where I left off.

I often record stuff but don't listen to it for some weeks.

sometimes if it's particularly good, I keep a copy of it.

Brendan
 
The box will come out of standby to record something so it doesn't need to be on all the time.

Do a test set the box to record something in the next few minutes then turn it off and see what happens.
 
Brendan
If ever you have a fire, you might have a difficult job explaining to the insurance co why you have these on for such long periods unattended. People will doubtless respond to say that after a fire it would not be possible to prove that the equipment was on, since there is no mechanical element to the switch which might be visible after a fire. Remember that an insurance contract is legally a contract of utmost good faith "Uberrimae fidei" and you are expected in law to observe that in completion of insurance claims.
 
Frank said:
The box will come out of standby to record something so it doesn't need to be on all the time.

Do a test set the box to record something in the next few minutes then turn it off and see what happens.
Click to expand...

Hi Frank

Doesn't work unfortunately.

The UPC box does not record radio.

I have since noticed another problem. Even if it's left on the radio station, it seems to switch to TV after a while. I can't really figure out why. It might be after 24 hours.

Brendan
 

How does that work with clock radios, frigdes, freezers etc?
 
Gulliver said:
If ever you have a fire, you might have a difficult job explaining to the insurance co why you have these on for such long periods unattended.
Click to expand...

These devices are designed, tested, and rated to be left on constantly. Without this, they will not be granted the CE mark that is a requirement in order to sell the equipment within the EU. There will not be any issue in the event of a fire for using these devices as designed.
 
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