Sleep mode

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Sleep mode, stand by, and hibernation all refer to a low power mode for electronic devices such as computers. Waking up resumes normal operations.

In computing, the standard for power management is ACPI.

Whilst Sleep mode (or Stand-by mode) is supposed to place electronic devices into a state of "waiting for a power-up" command. In July 2006, the British Government announced it would outlaw standby mode on televisions and video players that do not meet minimum standby-mode power consumption standards (1 watt). It was found that standby modes on electronic devices account for 8% of all British domestic power consumption.^[1]

Contents 1 Fire risks 2 Relief/Countermeasures 3 See also 4 Notes

[edit] Fire risks

There is much popular debate about the fire risk due to leaving electrical devices in standby mode. There are reported cases where televisions have caught on fire in stand-by mode.^[2] The contributing factors for such fires include:

• Humid environments and
• Lightning storms
• Age of the appliance

Modern televisions use only a small fraction of the power in standby mode (typically less than 10W). A modern HD LCD television will use only 1W or less when in standby mode (compared to 175W during standard operation). However, the risks of serious fire damage are increased since many people leave them in standby mode continuously when not in use, and when they are not at home. The risk of major fire damage originating from televisions left in standby mode is probably far below that for fires caused by other household appliances in regular use such as ovens, refrigerators.

[edit] Relief/Countermeasures

For halogen or LED-light use electronic trafos. For all devices you might add a manually switched plug.

[edit] See also

• Green computing
• Power management

[edit] Notes