Turning mains power on/off - will it damage my router?

[Damun]

I have my router (AX86) and several other devices connected to a powerstrip with a on/off switch built in.
Is it damaging for the electronics to turn the power off to a router (or other electronic devices) without using the on/off button on the router itself?
Does it affect the longevity of a device if i do this daily?

 

[L&LD]

Electronic devices have the most extended life if left powered on (and ideally, on a quality UPS).

Yes, turning off the router (whether by the power strip, the power button or by pulling out the power plug) does affect that longevity.

What is the reason for doing this daily?

 

[Damun]

Electronic devices have the most extended life if left powered on (and ideally, on a quality UPS).

Yes, turning off the router (whether by the power strip, the power button or by pulling out the power plug) does affect that longevity.

What is the reason for doing this daily?

Apparently we are facing a potential electricity shortage here in Denmark in the near future. We are being asked to conserve as much electricity as possible. It has even been suggested that electricity may have to be shut down for shorter periods, in selected areas, during this winter, depending on how cold it gets. Add to this that the price on electricty has gone up a lot. I have allready done much to save electricity (e.g. LEDs, filling the dishwasher up, shutting my pc down while at work etc.) but i was wondering if i could save even more by turning off devices, that are on stand-by (e.g. monitor, pc-speakers, tv, routers etc.) when they are not in use, for example while we're at work/school or during the night.
It would be easier to turn off, say two power strips, than going around and turning each device off.

Yes, I know that the power consumption of devices on stand-by isn't that high, but every little helps. However, if the price is that the devices are being damaged, or their lifespan severely shortened, then it wont be much of a saving.

 

[josephclemente]

The useful device lifespan will not be severely shortened. You can power them down as needed by power strip.

 

[L&LD]

Severely shortened? No. Savings for you and/or your electricity provider? Again, negligible.

Why the sense of doom and gloom? Why aren't they building the infrastructure for the demands they already know about?

 

[bbunge]

Why the sense of doom and gloom? Why aren't they building the infrastructure for the demands they already know about?

Apparently you do not keep up with the news and the Putin stupidity.

 

[Damun]

Severely shortened? No. Savings for you and/or your electricity provider? Again, negligible.

Why the sense of doom and gloom? Why aren't they building the infrastructure for the demands they already know about?

I don't want to contribute to the doom and gloom.
But unfortunately the current energy crisis is caused by the war in Ukraine. A lot of european countries are dependant on natural gas from Russia for energy and heating. Delivery of the natural gas has been restricted, because of politics. It's predicted to get worse. Germany has allready announced restrictions on e.g. heating in official buildings (reduction of temperature from 21-23 °C to 19°C), turning of street-lights etc. The same was announced here in Denmark today. The price of electricity has gone up dramatically here (approx 150%) and is expected to go even higher.

We are actually being reccomended to turn off devices that are on standby when not in use (game consoles, tv's etc.). I was just wondering if it was going to damage these devices.

 

[L&LD]

Politics. Gotcha.

Never was one to believe that propaganda.

Prices here have dramatically gone up too (food bill x2, gas x1.5, electricity x1.4, etc.) but just have to work more/harder to pay for it. There is no other option (for me).

I've been hearing we're running out of natural resources for 60+ years, hasn't happened yet. What has happened is that the ones yelling about this 'running out of stuff...' the loudest, are always ending up getting richer.

I choose to ignore these people and live how I want. Not how they want me to (which is usually under a 'nanny' state of fear).

 

[ColinTaylor]

Politics. Gotcha.

Never was one to believe that propaganda.

Wow! You really have been living under a rock. I wouldn't call Russia invading a European country and waging a continuing bloody war for over six months with 10's of thousands of people dead and millions displaced as "propaganda".

 

[L&LD]

No, I live out in the sunshine. There is no real news today. The war is happening, yes. Everything else depends on whose version you're willing to fall for (I choose to not listen to those mind-numbing agendas that are only after increasing their $$ share, and not to simply and truthfully, inform).

 

[Tech9]

Apparently we are facing a potential electricity shortage here in Denmark in the near future.

Big Like for your contribution. Your router is safe buddy. I'm stopping by a friend in Copenhagen next week. You guys will be fine in Denmark.

 

[OzarkEdge]

I don't want to contribute to the doom and gloom.
But unfortunately the current energy crisis is caused by the war in Ukraine. A lot of european countries are dependant on natural gas from Russia for energy and heating. Delivery of the natural gas has been restricted, because of politics. It's predicted to get worse. Germany has allready announced restrictions on e.g. heating in official buildings (reduction of temperature from 21-23 °C to 19°C), turning of street-lights etc. The same was announced here in Denmark today. The price of electricity has gone up dramatically here (approx 150%) and is expected to go even higher.

We are actually being reccomended to turn off devices that are on standby when not in use (game consoles, tv's etc.). I was just wondering if it was going to damage these devices.

Ignore L&LD... they are obviously ill-informed regarding your stated need to conserve energy.

Regarding your query... cycling power on electronics might cause premature failure (thermal stress) that might occur before you would normally retire the box, or it might not. I would lump this into the cost of ownership. Most users keep their router on 24x7, so they are operating at minimal cost of ownership in this regards... except they are likely losing any savings to the additional energy cost of running 24x7.

Cycling power can also disrupt data processing (not good for overall security), but routers are designed to survive being turned OFF or losing power, so not a big concern.

I would compromise... pull the plug on the lesser devices and perhaps keep the router/network boxes running (and for other reasons) or be prepared to replace one if it by chance dies prematurely.

OE

 

[Tech9]

cycling power on electronics might cause premature failure that might occur

This is correct, but the whole idea is not about saving money. I would turn the idle devices off regardless of eventual shortened life.

 

[ColinTaylor]

A half-way compromise might be to use Wireless - Professional > Enable wireless scheduler to turn off the WiFi when you know you're not going to be using it.

 

[L&LD]

Not ill-informed at all. And ignoring other points of view comes at your own peril, eventually.

 

[Tech9]

Turning off Wi-Fi only will save under 10% of total consumed power.

 

[OzarkEdge]

Not ill-informed at all. And ignoring other points of view comes at your own peril, eventually.

Your politics in this thread are off-topic and rude.

OE

 

[L&LD]

And your comments were not?

I don't do politics, truth suffices.

 

[follower]

I have my router (AX86) and several other devices connected to a powerstrip with a on/off switch built in.
Is it damaging for the electronics to turn the power off to a router (or other electronic devices) without using the on/off button on the router itself?
Does it affect the longevity of a device if i do this daily?

No.
I use dedicated VPN routers, IoT devices, other Networking devices except NAS like that. On and off many times every day. It works great. Of course I don't use built in On/Off switches at all. I use On/Off switches on Power Strips.

 

[follower]

Anyway, what's going on here?