Cable TV/DVR Box Off? Money to LIPA Still On!

Have you ever noticed that the cable TV/DVR  box from Optimum is hot on top even when off? That means electricity is being used just to keep the system in “ready mode”. For kicks, I decided to find out how much a box costs me if I keep it plugged in vs. pulling the plug. The results were surprising.

Using the Kill A Watt meter I discovered that an “OFF” box that is still plugged in uses .01 KWH each 36 minutes. That equates to 146 KWH per year. My LIPA bill reveals that I pay $.216 per KWH (21.6 cents/KWH) so the box when OFF still costs me $31.54 per year.

Then I checked to see what my electrical usage was when the box was actually ON. When ON the box only uses a little more power: .01 KWH each 35 minutes. Over a year that equates to  150 KWH which costs $32.44.

97% of the power used by the cable TV/DVR is just to keep it “warm” so one does not have to wait for the box to boot when power was previously turned off. I prefer to save the money and wait a few minutes for the boot.

Considering many of us have more than one box the electrical costs can really add up over the year. I know somebody who has 5 boxes so he is spending over $100 per year when he does not need to!

My solution: I keep the box in the kids play room completely powered off and have them flip the power strip to ON only when they need the box. Typically that TV is for the Wii anyway. In the living/family room I put a timer on the power strip to my entertainment center. It powers off at midnight and powers back on at 6 AM. That will save me about $8 per year just for the box. Of course, the other electronics (TV, stereo, DVD player, etc.) may also be drawing power when “off” but still plugged in.

For more energy savings tips please see my previous blog post:

It is Easy to Save Money and Our Planet at the Same Time