Dossier: be aware of the electricity consumption of your connected objects

News Guides & Comparisons January 17 2019 8 minutes
Update29th October

Hello to all loyal readers! Today, the editorial staff of the Alexiens will take care of your wallet! No, don't worry, we are not going to ask you anything but see with you how much you get, over a year, for the connected products that you can have at home, in use ... and on standby!

We are going to focus on fairly common objects among Alexians such as Echoes (well yes, anyway!), Holds and smart bulbs. We will make comparisons with other devices and see if the bill suffers.

Consumption Amazon Echo

Let's start from the beginning, the source of everything: electronics Amazon Echo ! To give you the information on consumption, you have to reason in type of enclosure because it seems logical that a Echo Spot ou Echo Show 8 will consume more than the last EchoDot 4 which, in addition, has an energy saving mode.

The data are available on the website ofAmazon who announces to us:

  • Amazon Echo 2 : from 0,5 W in shutdown to 2,4 W in use and 1,7 W in active standby (automatic after 5 seconds of inactivity).
  • Echo Dot 3rd generation : 0,16 W in off mode to 2,04 W in use and 1,4 W in active standby (automatic after 5 seconds of inactivity).
  • Echo Spot : 0,258 W in off mode to 2,21 W in use and 2,18 W in active standby (automatic after 5 seconds of inactivity).

These consumptions Peuvent être more important if you listen to the loud music or with the maximum brightness of the Spot, those are theoretical values ​​maybe underestimated. Surprisingly, the Echo 2 are the ones who consume the most in use…

Note: There is now a low power mode that reduces the power consumption of your Echo device when it is idle, except in certain situations. You do not need to manually turn Low Power Mode on or off. Your device automatically turns off Low Power Mode when you interact with it, such as when you use the wake word, press the Action button, or control it using the app Alexa. However, this mode is not available if you are using the integrated connected home hub, or if you have connected a device via Bluetooth.

If we start from a basic optional kWh price for 6 kVA, we are at € 0,15 at the most expensive suppliers and barely € 0,135 at the cheapest. Therefore let's start on € 0,15 to be in the high values. Which gives, in terms of price, for one hour of use:

  • echo 2 : 0,000075 € in shutdown, 0,00036 € in use and 0,000255 € in active standby.
  • EchoDot 3 : 0,000024 € in shutdown, 0,000306 € in use and 0,00021 € in active standby.
  • Echo Spot : 0,0000387 € in shutdown, 0,0003315 € in use and 0,000327 € in active standby.

If we go on the principle of active use of 3 hours per day and therefore from 21 hours in active standby, this makes:

  • Echo 2: 0,0064 € per day and therefore € 2,35 per year.
  • Echo Dot 2: 0,0053 € per day and therefore € 1,94 per year.
  • Echo Spot: 0,0079 € per day and therefore € 2,87 per year.

You are probably saying to yourself: is it a lot or not?

So here are some examples for everyday devices:

An LCD television used 3 hours per day, all year round, will consume 110 kWh per year, i.e. 16,4 € / year (without the day before).

A 2000 W oven serving 30 min every day will consume 365 kWh, i.e. € 54,75 / year...

More speaking?

Desktop PC, which runs all day, will consume 790 kWh, i.e. 118 € / year, and recharging your mobile phone in 1 hour (5W) every day, will consume 1,8 kWh, or € 0,27.

Connected bulbs

For connected bulbs, the hardest part is not knowing the consumption in use, it is noted above, but the consumption in standby. Yes, because as they are connected, they communicate constantly. And that standby data is sometimes a little hard to get. We are closer to the French brand Konyks which makes this information available on its website. The advertised standby values ​​are 0,5W. Following further research, it would appear to be the average.

So let's go on a 9 W bulb, used 5 hours a day (and therefore 19 hours of standby), we have daily consumption of 0,05 kWh and 19,9 kWh per year, i.e. € 0,008 per day and € 3 per year. By comparison, the equivalent with a 90W bulb, which will be on for 5 hours but no standby, will be 0,45 kWh per day and 164 kWh per year, i.e. € 0,07 daily and € 24,6 per year.

For people with Zigbee bridges like the Philips Hue bridge, it is a little different because in addition to the light bulbs on standby (0,45W) must be added the consumption of the bridge, given at 3W. Finally, with a few pennies ready, the annual cost of the bulb is the same. But to this we must add the bridge which consumes 0,072 kWh over the day et 26,3 kWh per year, i.e. 0,011 € / day and € 3,94 / year.

So what can we conclude from this?
That despite the fact that the bulbs remain connected, even in standby, the gain is far from negligible : between € 3 (Wifi bulb) and € 6,94 (bulb + bridge (fixed consumption regardless of the number of bulbs) instead of € 25 per year!

The consumption of connected sockets

For the sockets, the comparison is a little more delicate because in principle, a connected socket will consume in standby, and not a standard socket. Similarly, some sockets with light and others will also consume in operation ... it is not easy. How to do ?

Already trying to go data fishing. Again, it is site on the Konyks that we were able to get the info. We learn that empty consumption ranges from 0,5 to 0,8W, a delta that can be explained by the LEDs on some sockets. You might as well take 0,8 W to get a high estimate. At first, this means thata connected outlet consumes 0,02 kWh per day and 7 kWh per year, i.e. € 0,003 per day and € 1,05 over one year. You might as well remain on this consumption in use if we are talking about a socket with LED, without a night light ... It will only allow current to pass and will therefore have minimal additional consumption.

A connected outlet consumes therefore but it is necessary to know the gain when it avoids keeping devices on standby. For exemple, a TV on standby can consume between 2,5W and more than 10W, an internet television decoder is 14 W, and count the same for a DVD / Blu-ray player. Add to this 5 W for a printer...

So, if you put a TV, its decoder and a Blu-Ray player on a connected power strip, you will use 0,8 W but in save about 30W. Or, if they are on standby 10 hours a day, 31 euros savings per year! What to amortize the price of the catch.

For switches, they open or close the current, no light, no fuss ... We can therefore start on 0,5W, which seems to be the average. But for once, they will only cost and not gain because they will replace a switch that does not consume. More this represents 0,66 € per year.

In conclusion, this article full of figures teaches us thatAlexa, via connected devices operating with its help, has an annual cost but also allows us to save money. For example, in the case of your servant, who selfishly did the math for his home, this is what it looks like (for 2 x Echo and 2 x Dot, one of which is only lit at night), 1 spot, 7 bulbs (but 3 for bedroom so much less than 5 hours per day), 1 switch and 5 sockets): € 26,23 in operation per year, which we will round to € 30 with the underestimates. In gain via the sockets which turn off TV, PC, screen, decoder, console, printer, etc. about 20 hours per day: 49 €. Therefore a delta (and therefore a saving) of 23 € per year.
Obviously, these calculations are good for the portfolio and ultimately for the environment, but we do not take into account the carbon or environmental impact of data transfers and the manufacture of components. That's another story, interesting too, we'll come back to that!
Tags
Jean-Christophe
More
Did i choose Alexa or did she choose me? Let's say that as a beta tester, it's a bit of both! And I do not regret having met our favorite assistant nor this adventure undertaken with Alexien Modo. Technophile, self-taught and loving popularization, I try to make our common passion easy to access!