Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion HiFi & HT Chat Finding ways to lower power consumption

Fellow Hitchickers,

Since we currently have very high energy prices in my country, I was wondering what I can do to reduce the power consumption in both our setups.

As far as I am aware, the DSP33 won't go into full standay with the latest fw installed, and will always consume power.. ?
Also the DSP 5.5KHC is perhaps also not the most effecient center speaker in standby, and perhaps will also still runs a couple of watts.. ?
The same thing applies I think for our MJ Acoustic Pro 50 subs, and G55 amp which uses 31V in standby mode I think, whichs is about 31 Watts ?

I was thinking of using a power bank socket with master and slave sockets, but this did not work out fine with the 568.2mm.
The Slave sockets won't always go on, perhaps the 568.2mm is using too litter power in standby mode, I am not sure..
I bought this unit, I still have to test it with setup 2.

I wonder if there is perhaps a better solution for my problem.
What I would like to achieve is a situation where everything is completly off, and not in standby.
Since I think this way, it consumes less power..

Looking forward to what you have done, or if there are any tips/advice would love to hear it from you.

Regards,
Floris

When not in use I turn-off all my audio kit at the mains switch.

I've tried a few different infrared controlled 'standby saver' products but they all suffer from the same problem - relay stick and defaulting to on after a power cut.

I ended up building my own using various off-the-shelf components, such as:

Velleman 2-Channel IR Remote Receiver Minikit MK161
Rail Power Supply 15 W 12 V
DC 12V Coil 8 Pin 10A DPDT LED Indicator Electromagnetic Power Relay
Project Box

The Velleman infrared kit receives signals from my harmony remote and triggers the 12v input of the DPDT relays and supplies power to a 13a socket.
I added a second 13a socket/relay and a delay timer to turn off projector power after 2 minutes, to allow the cooling fan to finish.

Even with a good quality relay, I get the occasional stick but way way less than with standby savers.

I'm not aware of a current commercially available product that uses infrared control and works properly, other than the single 13a socket 'standby saver' variant. It comes up on eBay every now and then. It had the least number of stuck closed relay issues of them all (even compared to the 4-way version of the same product).

The other choice, of course, is a wifi smart plug or rf controlled plug but these can't easily be integrated into harmony/learning remote controls.

I know my answer will likely be unpopular especially in the current climate.

I still leave all my Meridian gear on at all times (unless away for a week or more) for longevity. My gear is getting old and I prefer to avoid the energy spikes from turning on and off daily. Whilst I know this uses a little more electric I expect any saving to be wiped out by potential repair costs of any one component or speaker blowing a component inside.

I do use Amazon Alexa plugs elsewhere which have worked without any issues. I would expect I could plug in my distribution strip into one of these plugs and easily turn on and off via the app as I do know but choose not to as per above. My point here is it should work reliably if that's what you wanted to achieve.

thanks for all of your input.

After measuring, we where shocked that setup 1 was using about 100Watt's in standby, and setup 2 about the same.

We reduced the standby power massivly, by adding wireless power breaker/switches, which we can control using a remote control / ios app, and a home automation controller which auto sends a off signal i programmed for every night.

we used a dutch brand called klikaanklikuit, which makes beautiful products for the dutch market just what we needed..

I was astonished to find that my power amps were using about half of my total electricity usage when I turned the system off in the summer. They make nice room heaters though...
Instead of leaving them all on in standby, I now switch them off if I am not going to be using the system for a few days. The AV controller and other front end items use very little power in standby so I leave these on.

What are your power amps Malcolm?

I have ATC SCM50 active monitors with 350W amps in each!

My memory fails me now Malcolm but didn't you previously run some DSPs?

I did have DSPs many years ago but I just didn't enjoy the bass presentation. The ATCs also have absolutely wonderful mid range which excels in choral pieces.

I note that you have a Marantz AV processor. I have just changed to the Marantz AV8805A from a G68XXV + HD621 (now on the restaurant) to get all the up-to-date features and I have been -pleasantly surprised how good it sounds in my room.

Things change.

I remember another piece about standby consumption a few years ago & was startled to discover how much my 5500s drained just sitting there so from then on I switched them off at the back at the end of each listening session.

Thanks for the reply Malcolm. Great to hear the ATCs suit your tastes.... you don't mention the bass but presumably you much prefer their way of doing it vs DSPs? Which DSPs did you have by the way?

I enjoy the Marantz too but I suspect I'm less critical of ultimate SQ in a movie setting as the image is the main driver for me. Still, they've always enjoyed a good reputation & I'm happy with it. To get a decent upgrade would cost a few thousand & I'm not sufficiently motivated.