Power consumption on the router: When is it worth turning off the WLAN?

A router also contributes to power consumption and does not have to be on all day. We tell you how much you can save if you turn off WiFi at night.

A router usually works 24 hours a day. We don’t need the Internet 24 hours a day, especially at night when you sleep, the router works for free.

In times of high energy costs, it may therefore make sense to turn off the WLAN at night. After all, the router also contributes to power consumption. By temporarily turning it off, you can not only save some money, but also do something good for the environment, because routers, like other electronic devices, also produce greenhouse gases. CO2.

According to that Öko-Institut e.V. a continuously operating router produces around 53 kilograms of greenhouse gas emissions per year. If you turn off the WLAN at night, you can also limit your CO2 consumption. And there is another advantage: if the router is turned off, it also drops radiation exposurethat occurs during WLAN operation.

What is the power consumption of a router? That’s what you can save

Not all routers are the same, so power consumption can vary greatly depending on the device. For example, routers that do not require as much power only use five watts, others with a higher consumption are around 20 watts. Each of these values ​​indicates the maximum amount of power that the router requires from the mains when it is running.

stream If you’re watching a series or participating in a video conference, the router’s power consumption may be higher than when it’s just running without you using the Internet specifically. Due to such fluctuations, it is not possible to say exactly how many watts your Internet consumption costs per hour. According to that Federal Association for Energy and Water Management in July 2022, a kilowatt hour of electricity cost 37.30 cents.

Depending on the device, consumption and energy costs, the annual electricity costs for the router may vary depending on the General of Augsburg be between 26 and 52 euros. If you turn off the WLAN for eight hours at night, according to the calculations of the overall burlap save between five and 22 euros a year.

You can further limit the power consumption of your router by also turning it off when you go on vacation or are not home all day, for example because you work away from home for a long time or go on a trip. Normally, you only need the Internet when you are at home.

Turning off the WLAN at night: are there any disadvantages?

However, turning off the router to reduce its power consumption may not only have advantages. The following disadvantages can occur if you turn off the Internet for a while:

• The biggest drawback is obvious: if you turn off WiFi at night, you won’t have Internet. For people who have a server at home or smart House use, this can be problematic. After all, not all technical devices work properly without the Internet, for example, lamps.
• Their availability is also limited at night. There is not a good cell phone network in all regions. If you want to be easily reachable in an emergency, you should keep that in mind.
• And many software updates, usually done overnight, can’t be done if the WLAN is turned off.
• Since routers are designed for continuous operation, frequent powering on and off may cause wear and tear on the device and you may need to buy a new router much sooner.

If you also depend on an internet connection that works at night, you can find out before you buy a router how high the power consumption of different devices is. If you decide on a particularly economical model, you can also save on electricity costs. You can also operate your router in a particularly environmentally friendly way if green electricity relate

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