Is an inverter eco-friendly?

[stein42]

Hello everyone

Yesterday I made measurements at the wattmetre of the consos on my computer devices (PC, screen, printer, etc ...)
I was scared on the standby on the eve of all this because I am at 35-40W.
So I'm going to install switch sockets or standby cutters to improve this.

But I was wondering about the inverter.
If I cut the inverter all the time, it will discharge each time, to better recharge by pumping Wh next after?

In short, is an inverter econological?

For the use I have of it, I almost want to sell this thing ...

Thank you in advance for your suggestions.

[Forhorse]

Clearly no, it's not econological.
If you leave it plugged in, it stays on standby and therefore consumes current for it and to keep the battery charged.
And if you unplug it, when the power is turned on it will absorb more current to reset the batteries, stronger if they are a little old and therefore do not hold the charge too much.

In addition gray energy level is not the top. Not to mention that it contains batteries that are charged all their life to serve at best a few minutes and finally end up at the garbage.

[stein42]

Your answer convinces me I will try to sell it !!

[chatelot16]

if you want the UPS battery to last a long time you have to let it plug in

it is a lead-acid battery: this kind of battery wears out especially when it is empty ... and wears out the least when it is kept full

a well made inverter should consume very little to maintain an always full battery

[Gaston]

Clearly no, it's not econological.

...

In addition gray energy level is not the top. Not to mention that it contains batteries that are charged all their life to serve at best a few minutes and finally end up at the garbage.

The inverter is like insurance: a few tens of euros per year to protect several hundred euros of equipment (the same comparison may be valid for gray energy).
It's always too expensive until it is used

[stipe]

In any case your standby cutoff, it must be put after the inverter ...

Edit: as a non-expert in the field, does the inverter not allow to limit the disturbances of the sector for the devices placed upstream, thus increasing their life expectancy?
So this inverter costs you in "load" what is visible and quantifiable, but on the other hand what it brings back to you is not measurable ... but very real nevertheless.
What is the most eco-friendly afterwards? to resell it so that someone else can use it or keep it and save your installation for many years to come ...?

[Forhorse]

The inverter is like insurance: a few tens of euros per year to protect several hundred euros of equipment (the same comparison may be valid for gray energy).
It's always too expensive until it is used

Protect the material against what?
I never considered that an inverter protects the material. Most SOHO computer inverters are off-line models that have too long a reaction time to protect anything.
it protects the data yes (avoids a hard drive crash for example) but the hardware blah ...
So to see if the insurance it provides is worth it compared to the purchase price / consumption / pollution that it induces.

[Christophe]

Absolutely, the power strip with switch (s) is more than recommended on an inverter. Ours consumes about 20W.

Here is a power strip model perfectly suited to the office: https://www.econologie.com/shop/multipri ... -p-60.html

+1 with Gaston.

The inverter can be considered as econological in the sense that it protects the material or the data: and when we know the embodied energy to make electronics, a recent burnt PC is a bit of an econological "disaster". ..and in terms of data, everyone will appreciate their value on a case-by-case basis (a pro pc does not have the same "value" as a leisure pc ... except sentimental value ...)

There is no datacenter in the world that does not use an online UPS; nor a safety generator.

If Forhose, a UPS even off line protects against "micro" cuts ... (on / off / on in a short time, with risk of over or under voltage when restarting or deterioration of the chipsets due to on / off / we too fast)

With us, in the countryside, the network is quite rotten: it jumps almost systematically in the event of a storm ... and several "micro" cuts during the snow, probably broken branches, wind, or weight of the snow on the cables .

For UPS batteries that wear out or self discharge: if it is a PC that is used frequently (more than once a week) then in my opinion no premature wear is to be feared.

Do not forget to also disconnect the inverter, of course (take a model with a button on the front). Take a recognized brand. We have MGE Elipse.

[chatelot16]

beware ... most small inverter for pc charges the battery at very low current: if it is not permanently connected the battery is never enough charged and dies quickly

a good inverter should have good charge control to charge the battery just right, so anyway compensate for its loss of self discharge, if you unplug it for a while, it will consume what it has not consumed as soon as you plug it in ... same total consumption ... but if it's an average inverter that mismanages the load, it guns down the battery: profit = loss

[Forhorse]

Real micro-cuts are normally absorbed by capacitors in power supplies and on computer motherboards.
Since commercial off-line inverters have relay switching, therefore mechanical, their reaction time to a real micro-cut is enormous, this is only a commercial argument.

And if you rely on an inverter to protect your equipment during a thunderstorm, you stick your finger in the eye up to your elbow.

And for data protection, a regular backup on an external media, connected only for this use is 1000 times more reliable than an inverter.

For me, except if you live in a "third world" country or at the end of an old rotten power line that breaks every 4 mornings *, an inverter is an aberation for an individual.

I used one for 5 years (in my geek period) and now it's been as long as I no longer use it.
I have had no more data loss or HS hardware without that with. (in addition to the few hardware breakdowns that I had, were mainly related to poor quality condos, the classic breakdown of condos running on the motherboard)

* And it goes without saying that it's more of a "convenience", in order not to lose the file we are working on all the time, which is, I grant you, extremely annoying. It is surely not for a matter of protection of the material.