Don Pearce wrote:
On Mon, 21 Aug 2006 08:40:31 +0100, Rob
wrote:

Trevor Wilson wrote:
"Serge Auckland" wrote in message
...
I would suggest that our domestic consumption is typical, even lower than
average as our children have left home, so if more people turned off stuff
on standby, the power saving would be very considerable. There is the
anecdotal evidence that equipment left on standby or permanently on seems
to be more reliable, but I'm happy to take that chance.
**A common misconception. The killer for most permanently powered items are
capacitor failures. Turning stuff off and on as required does several
things:

* Capacitors last longer.
* The product is shielded from unnecessary spikes on the mains.

I always turn stuff off (except for the obvious stuff, with clocks) unless I
actually want to use it.

One of the few (obviously!) things I remember from physics at school is
that you should use the appliance switch if it has one to avoid damage,
rather than the socket switch or pull the plug. Is there any truth to this?

Rob

It depends. If the appliance switch is simply turning off the incoming
mains (the traditional way to do it), then pulling the plug or
switching off at the socket is exactly equivalent. If the appliance
switch works through some electronic function, then it isn't.

But whatever the case, there should be absolutely no danger of damage.

d


That's grand - thanks.

Rob