Sure, you leave the fridge on at night. But what about your internet box? If you haven’t wondered how much power your little digital gateway eats up while you sleep, you’re not alone. We set out to bust (or prove) the myth that an internet box can chew through as much energy as a small fridge by just doing its blinking, humming thing 24/7. Spoiler: the results were surprising, and so were your reactions.
Internet Box vs. Fridge: Who Wears the Power Crown?
- Our investigation began with the pressing question: Can you really say your internet box consumes as much as a compact fridge each year?
- Let’s do the numbers. The Livebox 5 clocks in at 57 kWh per year. In comparison, a refrigerator gobbles up around 200 kWh annually—a big difference unless you’re chilling cyber-ice cream in your router.
- But hold up: some boxes, like the Freebox Delta, creep a lot closer to fridge territory, munching about 150 kWh every year.
- Whether or not this comparison is slightly exaggerated, it definitely highlights the annual cost of running these boxes: somewhere between 10 and 25 euros per year. Not pocket change, but also not quite luxury-appliance territory.
To Switch Off or Not: Motivations and Real Savings
- With these findings, we couldn’t help but wonder: how many readers pull the plug on their box (figuratively and literally) at night or when they’re out?
- Your reasons varied: some aim for savings, some are motivated by ecology, and a handful worry about electronics running amok while everyone sleeps.
- Here’s the deal: switching the box off at night gives you a modest, but real, reduction in your electricity bill. Enough to sway the diligent and eco-conscious. Plus, the safety-minded find solace in unplugging electronics for peace of mind.
Poll Results: The Real-Life Switchers, the Skeptics, and the Unbothered
- Thanks to a record turnout, we got a clear snapshot of your habits.
- 31.7% revealed they never even thought about shutting down their internet box.
- 29.6% found the idea just too much hassle. (Let’s face it: reconnecting Wi-Fi in the morning is a mood-killer.)
- In third place, 19.3% confirmed they do switch off to save money. Penny-pinchers of the world, unite!
- 12.3% shrugged and declared that turning their box off serves no purpose.
- A smaller but passionate group do it “to save the planet” (5.2%), while 1.9% confessed it’s “because I’m afraid of a fire.” There’s always one, but hey, better safe than sorry.
Your Stories: Updates, Annoyances, and a Case for Sleep
- The comments section told us why so many keep their box running: automatic updates often happen at night. No one wants to miss out on crucial security patches—or those late-night spam emails.
- Some need to stay reachable by landline. Yes, people still use those.
- There’s also tech nonchalance. For example, one user, Rémi WLBRCK, pointed out his NAS server doesn’t like being powered down every night. (Fair. Nobody wants grumpy storage on a Monday morning.)
- Stéphane Badia summed up the pain: “If I turn it off, the next morning it’s chaos—Wi-Fi and internet don’t work, and I lose 30 minutes getting everything to behave again.”
- In our smart home era, resetting connected houses every morning sounds like a recipe for pre-caffeine frustration.
- Not everyone agrees, though. Yves Jambenoire unplugged his box nightly to avoid the annoying fan noise, premature fan wear, and the not-so-welcome radiator effect from a box that just can’t cool it at night. Good point: silence and a cooler room as a bonus!
- And then there’s Hadrien01, who’s had his SFR box on a timer (cuts power from 00:30 to 8:00) for two years. Initially, it was because his buggy box worked better with daily reboots, but bonus: less pointless electricity use and reduced wear.
So, what’s the takeaway? Flipping your box off at night won’t get you rich, but it might buy you peace (or just quieter nights). And whether you’re motivated by savings, the environment, or just sick of the humming fan, you’re not alone—unless you’re the only one in the building with Wi-Fi out at 2 a.m. Maybe consider a timer if you’re looking for an easy win, or keep things running if you like your updates fresh and your smart home, well, smart.
