Contributor I

Sonos needs to tackle idle energy consumption of existing devices with a software update and an "Eco" mode

15 replies
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Sonos should really focus on reducing idle energy consumption of the existing devices! Both the environmental impact and the impact on energy bills is significant (especially in some regions of Europe) when expanding a Sonos System. I have a system with a Beam Gen2, two Sonos One Gen2, and together the consumption exceeds 13W! It’s MORE than three lightbulbs constantly on 24/7! It accounts for about 120kWh a year, which is what you’d consume to drive 700km with an electric car!! It’s just crazy! Also, with current energy prices it could account to more than 70€ a year! It’s like having yet another subscription service!

Also, I’d like to expand my setup with a Sub Mini, but I can’t tollerate to rise further this energy consumption!

Sonos should first of all do everything that’s possible to optimize the devices and reduce idle energy consumption, but also develop an “Eco” mode -which could also be scheduled, for example- which brings the devices in a “deep sleep” state, which might require slightly longer wait time when starting a new track, and even disable airplay 2 if it’s a significant contributor to the energy consumed!

Honestly energy consumption higher than 1W per device is hardly acceptable, since they are literally doing nothing!

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106rallye

The new Era speakers show Sonos’ commitment to limiting environmental impact, while not limiting the use case.

The speakers are doing something when they are not being used: they are ready for starting up asap, keeping a connection to your wifi and other speakers. I'm not sure the Eco-mode you are proposing is technically possible on older speakers. I for one would not even use it if it would mean my speakers needed more start up time.

The idle energy consumption of Sonos devices is not a secret. Why did you buy them in spite of this?

C

coxmr1

Contributor I

Kindly unplug them and send them all to me. Problem solved. If you are really in a fit about a couple of Watts, I suggest putting your speakers on a powerstrip with an on/off switch and then turning it off when not in use. You’ll have to wait for them to reconnect to wifi each time you are ready to use them.

T

Traveller

I use smart plugs. Mainly for convenience, but also to power off high usage standby devices like TVs overnight. If I wanted I could add Sonos to this setup, or indeed just switch off manually if desired. But then I would lose convenience of instant music. It’s a trade off. With TVs smart plugs pay for themselves in a year; I’m not sure how long it would take for speakers. Certainly longer.

Richard

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coxmr1

Contributor I

I use smart plugs. Mainly for convenience, but also to power off high usage standby devices like TVs overnight. If I wanted I could add Sonos to this setup, or indeed just switch off manually if desired. But then I would lose convenience of instant music. It’s a trade off. With TVs smart plugs pay for themselves in a year; I’m not sure how long it would take for speakers. Certainly longer.

A smart plug is a power draw also, though. It has to draw some standby power to be “smart”. Which is what the OP was complaining about.

T

Traveller

Minimal - that’s the point. Break even time around 1 year for TV.

Richard

C

coxmr1

Contributor I

Minimal - that’s the point. Break even time around 1 year for TV.

Forgive me for going further off topic here, but do you find the smartplug-on-a-set-routine method to be better than the built-in “eco-mode” on most newer TV’s? Overall standby power usage of devices in my home is a rabbit hole I’ve yet to wander down, but it is intriguing to hear other people’s findings.

T

Traveller

I live in the UK and had my LG on eco mode. It was consuming around £25-£30 p.a, including 1-2 hours viewing per day.

I use Hive radiator valves and smart plugs. The Hive website says they cost 40p p.a. to run, but with increased energy costs here that is now around £1 per plug. They cost me around £20 each on offer last year, so for TVs have paid for themselves. I haven’t estimated Sonos use - but it would take longer to break even. Also, as I said above, the convenience of listening to music on a whim trumps potential savings!

Richard

melvimbe

I think it’s worth mentioning as well that power generation and power usage is not a 1 to 1 equation exactly. When a turbine spins up in a gas plant for example, it creates a set amount of energy above current demand. Say the turbine creates 300 MW, and the current demand is 250 MW for the service area. That’s 50MW that goes unused. So while that 13W makes a difference on your electric bill, it does not factor in that much difference to energy generated. Obviously, some forms of generation have more variable output levels and batteries can store energy in some cases, but the point still remains that small quantities in energy efficiency are more about your personal energy bill than any impact on energy generation.

Also, the speakers are designed to stay on all the time. While they certainly can handle being powered on and off regularly via a smart switch, it’s not good for longevity of the speaker.

Danny

Stanley_4

Grand Maestro

It really comes down to you measuring your own devices, data-plate and claimed numbers aren’t always going to match what you actually see.

A smart TV can draw different levels of power, mine has two. It has cold start that draws a tiny amount as nothing but the remote receiver and a power switch are powered. A warm start, like Sonos keeps the computer chips alive but in a low power mode.

We tried putting our Christmas lights, small LED ones on a timer to save power. With the Kill-A-Watt meter telling the tale we used less power running the lights 24x7 than we did running the switch 24x7 and the lights 8 hours.

Meters, I have the Pe 4400 and 4460 with more features.

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=p3+kill-a-watt+meter&crid=25YIS25JP3H44&sprefix=p3+kill-a-watt+meter%2Caps%2C132&ref=nb_sb_noss_2

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craigski

Local Superstar

Also, the speakers are designed to stay on all the time. While they certainly can handle being powered on and off regularly via a smart switch, it’s not good for longevity of the speaker.

Is this official advise from Sonos, or educated guess?

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