The Big Switch Off...to Save Energy

Lounge
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We, like may others, have been concerned with our energy consumption, and have gone as far as keeping weekly meter readings for several years (no, no smart meter here) and having been prompted by Mrs Fergch (after getting the latest letter about rates now the cap has changed again) I eventually had to reveal the Naim HiFi, which the TV plays through, as well as the record player and a CD player, was left switched on all the time. The questioning was something like “…well you never play records or CD’s these days, why does the hifi have to be on anyway, and why not use the TV sound…” I also faced questioning about the various computers in the house. I have established that the TV sound from the set only is just not bearably (”…what do you mean, you’re deaf…”), but it has been harder to justify the Naim Amps running all the time.

Now I have been persuaded that we must have a more economical hifi system, and last week I switched off the Naim NAC 62, NAP 140 and HICAP and replaced with a Bantam One amplifier from Temple Audio that I have had for a few years to use with the computer sound. Yes, it does not sound the same as the Naim, but since the TV sound is poor anyway, and sound tracks to programs poorly mixed, and speech is mostly mumbled or garbled the change to the Bantam One is quite acceptable…to my deaf ears. Maybe the Bantam One is very good anyway.

Monday is Meter Reading Day and our electric meter reading this morning is one third less compared to last week. The sound system change over was last Wednesday and Thursday so this does not a full week yet. (Last week 105, previous week 175 kWh.)

Does the switch off now lead to a sell off?

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At some point in one’s life, something big will change. Sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse. The worse can be bad, sometimes very bad, enough to affect your health. If it goes bad, one can wonder what was I saving for and why. If you’re enjoying your life and don’t have much to worry about, enjoy it. This is your peak.

For me, I won’t constantly check every amount of energy use and definitely wouldn’t want a partner dictating what am I doing.

Obviously a cliche, but enjoy your life while you can.

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Ther is an alternative, powering off after use and on judt half an hour or so before use, which is plenty of time for electronics to warm up. This is what I’ve done throughout my hifi journey, though admittedly not Naim. Maybe, as Naim claim, best sound takes a lot longer to achieve, but surely the difference is small, and if you prefer the Naim sound isn’t a slightly less than best possible better than losing it completely?

Less than a year ago I bought a class A amp which consumes somewhere around 450W when on… But it only costs me for about a quarter of a unit for its warm up, often less as I don’t always manage half an hour (and it still sounds great!)

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It was one factor in us moving away from traditional Naim separates.
Another factor was to reduce box count. The box count reduction is still a work in progress…

Best regards, BF

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I justify leaving my 6 box Naim system on 24/7 by gesticulating at my solar panels.

We’re generally a fairly green household but music is my vice and I don’t think I would use the hifi as much of I had to walk over and power the PSUs on and off for each session.

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Oh, the effort! (Apologies if you have physical impairment limiting your ability.)

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I am on the original super solar panels deal so all of my electric consumption is more than funded by the money I get back when the sun shines.

Ah! it’s raining again!

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You could get yourself a plug in watt meter and go around the house to see what everything uses. In my case I did this and found that an old Freezer was using twice as much as a new one would, so I worked at making saving on other things so that I could quietly ignore the HiFi. I also used a few Smart Plugs to automatically turn things off at night, that were not needed. My HiFi currently costs about £10 a month, which is the cost of a CD (in fact it’s a lot lower, as I have Solar panels, but thats another story)

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If I’m reading this correctly, your post switch-off consumption has fallen by 75kwh (over less than a week?). There’s no way a switched-on Naim system should consume anywhere near this, as per @GadgetMan 's tabling.

Something else is in play here!

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The old cd player may be guilty. The Naim Amps won’t take that much indeed.

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Nothing in the kit list in the profile suggests anything like the consumption suggested, vis:

‘Rogers BBC Studio Monitor speakers, NAC62, HICAP and NAP140, all “Chrome Bumper” of course, Alphason Sonata Gold (Atlas psu) turntable, with HR 100S MCS, all dating from the 1970’s and late 1980’s, Hanna SL (and a recent Rega tuner fed by the old Ron Smith Galaxie14 FM)’

…unless there’s a valve CD player hiding somewhere?

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I wonder what cd player he has. My old Philips 104 runs quite hot and I can see such old players using a lot.

Or coincidence: a computer which decided to go in sleep could save a lot too. My old Mac Pro easily consumed 100 kWh in a month.

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I can’t enjoy life if I am battling with confrontation about the electric bill, and maybe my deaf ears should persuade me that such a high quality hifi is not worth delivering sound I cannot hear properly.

Thought for Today on R4 was a few minutes discussing the acceptance that we are no longer able to do what we once did.

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Yes, of course I could start switching off, but the tv may well be on for long periods!

I always thought leaving on for a period was better for the Naim electronics than constant on-off cycles. The though of accelerating the onset of another trip to Class A and the associated bill does not encourage me. Since the late 1980’s I resisted the “servicing” till getting them done in 1919.

The Bantam One must be less than 100W…I hope…nowhere near 440W…

I had a job explaining the change in sound, as I said, and it would seem the power rating (in terms of light bulbs) is the essence of my return to Naim.

However the weekly meter reading are the arbiter here…

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I have not mentioned here the pressure to “reduce the box count” and answer the “…well you never listen to records or CD’s, why do you need all this stuff…”

The “…Why do you need all this stuff…” does go elsewhere…garage and sheds, corners of various rooms (not that many, 3 bed semi, but the dining room is a challenge).

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:thinking: :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

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I have posted before that I decided to put smart timers on the plug points. Every system is on for an hour per day and then stays on if I’m in that room. The main system is powered on an hour before we get up and goes off at 00:30.
Daily electricity consumption has fallen dramatically. Combined with a smart timer on the hot water system we are now saving over a 1000 euros a year. Daily electric charge is currently ( no pun intended) around 3 euros per day or less.

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The CD is the Rega and is not switched on anyway, the radio is also not switched on, so it is just the Naim that has been switched off. The old Naim did not have any stand-by so using the first watt principle rather loosely here, I do not think the consumption will be much different to running with the tv and running at idle.

I looked into solar, again recently as the local council were sponsoring as promotion, and the costs are too much capital investment, and likely return to be delivered after our death, hardly a sensible solution, and another case of missing the boat in our peculiar lives.

The computers go to sleep so are discounted from too much attention.

Better figures will be available next Monday, and I was disturbed that the hifi made such a difference, and I am seeking any clarification. I have discovered the washing machine is now switched off at the wall, and a 80w tube heater in the conservatory is now also switched off.

Freezer quite new, and only small anyway (under the counter size, same as the fridge), no immersion, no tumble dryer, no heated airer, our electric consumption has a bit of a mystery which is why this exercise was started. There are timers in a couple of lights that really are just security saying someone is at home, and really they only run in the winter months, and they are now off.

Just now all I have to go on the the change with switching off the Naim, and adding the Bantam One, switching off the washing machine at the wall, and switching off an 80w tube heater, and the change in weekly meter readings.

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NB this will cost you about 43p per day. I would be very surprised if your HiFi is using this much. Mine for example uses 65Watts, and so yours should be less

Your high energy bill is likely to be something else, hence the suggestion of getting a watt meter to check everything, and document as you are going. Your 75KWh saving would suggest you have turned off items that add up to 447Watts that were permanently on before. That’s an awful lot. Do you by any chance have a load of 50W halogen lamps in your kitchen (10 of these would add up to 500W) ?

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Yes, it’s impossible for a small Naim system such as a 62, Hicap and 140 to use that much power. It’s more like 40 watts than over 400. Something else must be going on. In the scheme of household energy consumption, a Hicap and 140 will be very much at the margin. Changing a 60w bulb for a 6W LED will probably save more.

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