Wowza, you’re always on beats my average daily usage!
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At one point I was really obsessed with trying to figure out why my always on is so high (well, I still would like to know, but there doesn’t seem to be one stinker). We turned off every breaker except the one sense was connected to. The UPS our router is hooked up to will give about 30 minutes so I was able to do a little hunting, and I found that the entertainment system in our living room is using 250-300 watts by itself, when nothing is even turned on. That includes the cable modem, router, TV, cable box, bluray player, receiver, amp, speakers, subwoofer, playstation, etc. That’s when I decided that we just have a ton of stuff that is plugged in, and there isn’t any one thing by itself causing my high power bills. Kind of a bummer really, but I live with a bit of an audiophile who has a lot of equipment.
And today, always on is over 900.
I’m in the same boat, sorta, but our “always on” seems manageable. Some of those things are auto-shutoff or kept off when not necessary. Three amps that automatically turn off when nothing is sending signals, powered by Chromecasts for whole home audio. Typically using 8-10w a piece when off, I’d guess in the 2-300w range total when all three are on (7 total speakers, 80W max each). One stereo receiver for 7.1 living room audio - typically powered off through a Harmony hub when the TV isn’t in use, pulling maybe 10w in standby. Blue ray player, turned off most of the time. Your 250-300w still seems a bit high?
It does, and now that I think about it, 250-300 watts is what we got when we turned on the breaker that all that stuff is on. I suppose there could have been other things besides just the TV stuff. In fact, there’s a hub for the hue lights, an echo, harmony hub just off the top of my head. There’s also a power conditioner, which could be part of it, although I have tried turning it off and didn’t get much decrease. I think we have to investigate the auto shutoffs. I am not sure that subwoofer has one (and it is huge, the size of an end table)
Mine is 269.
Y’all use a lot of juice.
Mine is up to 62. Someone must’ve left the upstairs powered speakers on.
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Everyone should post what they believe is included in their Always On number… My Always On is typically around 524W…
I have:
3 External POE Security Cameras
5 Internal Wifi Cameras
1 Tower Computer (HTPC / PVR for Cameras)
2 Routers/APs
1 Cable Modem
1 8 Port POE Switch
1 8 Port Non POE Switch
1 Amazon Echo
1 Amazon Echo Dot
1 HDHomerun TV Tuner
2 Inkjet Printers
1 OBI200
Your list only includes electronics. All the common appliances have vampire drains too.
Here’s some in my house
Garage door opener: 3w
Laser Printer: 3w
Fridge: 14w
CO Detector: 4w
Washer: 1w
Furnace: 10w
Digital Clock: 1w
Gas Range: 1w
HDHomerun tv tuners: 3w
TV antenna preamp: 3w
I’ve pretty much convinced myself that anything that’s plug in has a residual always-on drain.
I went around the house with a killowatt meter, measuring everything that was plugged in and I was able to identify only 50% of the power drain that Sense labelled as always on.
There are some other interesting threads where users have tried to parse out all their Always On devices. Here’s one.
Your number looks a bit high for the set of devices you list, though cameras have huge variation depending on resolution, technology and lighting capabilities. I have a larger number of Always On devices, but a lower power draw (360W). I recently made the the decision to pull my stereo receiver off a timer (it may have contributed to the digital board blowing out), added Sonos Amp, plus have halted nighttime shutdowns of my primary PC. That took me from 340W to 360W.
Your post reminded me of some others I forgot about, still electronics… And you’re right… I didn’t include the fridges, digital clocks I have, furnace, gas range, or garage door opener…
How did you find the draws on your furnace when not “in use” ? I have a killowatt as well but my furnace doesn’t have a plug that I know of…
Furnaces do have a small draw, even in standby mode, partially because they feed power to the thermostats. My electrostatic filters on the furnace also had a small draw (3.5W), even though they don’t activate until the furnace is on. Garage openers were the biggest surprise - 10W each, even when just sitting there awaiting a press of the remote button.
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I draw about 268W. This includes a network switch, router, and a server.
580 watts. Trying to use sense to identify why my always on is so high.
216W. Some of this includes
Router
Modem
Security system with 3 cameras always on
4 ceiling fans
1 alarm clock
microwave clock
coffee maker clock
PS3 in standby
PS4 in standby
Small air purifier (1 room unit)
Sense
Subwoofer
1 laptop (battery is dead, so always stays plugged in and always in standby mode when not in use)
1 monitor (power button broke, so stays in standby when not in use)
1 printer
Overall, I’m pretty happy with how little all my always on adds up to. I’m looking to find a way to eliminate the PS3, PS4, & subwoofer from the always on, but have been too lazy to look for a cheap solution that doesn’t require me to flip a physical wall switch.
I’m down to 433 so yes I am making progress.
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My ‘Always on’ was running 180 W. I then started shutting down my PC and turn off the power strip to it. It went down to 130W. I then turned off the power strip to my satellite Dish box, my plasma TV, DVD, and Wii. That took my ‘Always on’ down to 87W. I think the satellite Dish box uses 40 w when it is turned off. (That’s funny!)
I tried to see what my DSL modem (and wifi) takes, but when I turn it off, Sense didn’t capture it being off for the Wifi died. I for thought it had a buffer of data that when the Wifi came up, but I didn’t see that. I have to run another test to see if I can capture what the modem takes.
I don’t feel bad getting it down to 87W, but I doubt I can go much further. I need that night light at 3 am to find the bathroom, being the old man I am 
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Usually 460. Varies. Annoys me that a ceiling fan becomes ‘always on’ if it runs a day or more, as it’s not been identified before.
Wow! Most of you ha e great numbers. When I get down to 600 watts I’m pretty happy.
Mine started out at 253w when we first installed Sense but over time we have identified numerous things that do not need to be on, plus we put things like TV’s and printers on wifi plugs that completely cut power and we are down to 89w.
Taking about 150w/hr of consumption out of our AO reduces our daily by about 3.6 kWh, or about 1.35 MWh a year, about 40 days of median Solar Production.
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