Fact or Fiction? (power, electric, electricity, sync)
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I'd say fiction. Putting a device through cycles of heating and cooling would stress its components more than leaving it plugged in and running at a fairly constant temperature. Leaving it plugged in will use more electricity, though.
There is much too broad a spectrum of devices to make a single answer. Bo is correct, especially when it comes to capacitors, which don't like change too much. If you remember vacuum tubes, they had a lifespan based on number of hours used and wattage. Other components have their own idiosyncrasies.
There is no proof that powering down electronics enhances their life span. Lots of folks believe that powering down their PC will make it last longer, but I have servers and workstations that have been running for years without issue. Most of the time they are only powered down when time comes to replace them.
There is no proof that powering down electronics enhances their life span. Lots of folks believe that powering down their PC will make it last longer, but I have servers and workstations that have been running for years without issue. Most of the time they are only powered down when time comes to replace them.
The latest trend in server farms is to rack hundreds of servers in a sealed semi trailer, plug the trailer in at a shared facility and let them operate at 95 degrees F without any human intervention. The trailer stays sealed until 30% of the servers have failed, at which point it is taken offline and replaced with a new trailer.
I remember reading an article on this but it focused on the disk drives in servers (Y2K paranoia).
It said with the disk drives running 24/7 for years powering the server down for hours the spindles in the drives had an excellent chance of seizing up.
The only time my systems here are powered down is either a utility power failure longer then my UPS's battery life or their 6 month dust clean out PM or my grand kids push the wrong button....
Computers fail when power is applied.
A hard drive almost never fails while you are using it. It fails: when power is applied and the disc spins up.
Ram dies when power is applied not when it is powered and in use. Same with power supplies.
It's a lot like light bulbs. When do bulbs fail: 90% of the time when power is applied.
Giving your electronic devices and appliances regular rest periods, eg powering them off at the wall. Prolongs their life.
Fact or Fiction?
Fact for some things, fiction for others.
Except in certain circumstances, it does save energy.
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