[wgscott]

I have a very boring Tripp Lite HT1210ISOCTR

When nothing is running, it appears to consume 40 Watts of power.  I'm not convinced this is doing anything other than warming the cabinet.

WTF?

Am I better off without this?

[Atlplasma]

Do you leave the Tripp Lite on or off? If it is on, components in your system can continue to draw power. That's why some frugal users use power strips to break the connection to the power outlet.

[BrysTony]

Any equipment that can be powered on via remote control is drawing minimal power to be ready to receive the remote signal.

[wgscott]

Yeah, it is left on.  But if it is on with nothing plugged in, it still draws 40 W, which is a lot more than "minimal." It is 3% of my daily electrical consumption.

If I turn it off, will it still function as a surge protector?  If so, and those elements are passive, what is consuming the 40 W of power?

[srb]

If I turn it off, will it still function as a surge protector?  If so, and those elements are passive, what is consuming the 40 W of power?

There are dual LED voltage and current displays, assorted LED indicators and a remote control IR circuit at the ready, all which consume power.  It might seem that these elements shouldn't consume 40W, but perhaps they do.  It's also possible that the monitoring displays aren't very accurate at lower power levels.
 
You could plug the Power Center into a device like the P3 P4400 Kill A Watt which might help verify if the power consumption is accurate.  Available for ~ $20.
 
As far as surge protection available when not powered, I would contact Tripp-Lite.
 
Steve
 
 

[Atlplasma]

I believe it continues to work, but the advice to contact Tripp Lite is worth following. Of course, it probably has a MOV surge protection circuit. As I understand it, MOVs degrade over time. But you won't know it's stopped protecting your equipment until a surge gets through. Someone more knowledgeable should chime in here.

Since you're able to measure consumption, try removing components one at a time to see which one or ones are drawing current. Perhaps you have a component with an issue (or maybe your setup just draws a lot of power when idle.)

[Quiet Earth]

You can read the description of it here http://www.laaudiofile.com/ht1210isoctr.html


It says that a small power transformer supplies power to the displays and controller. So, like SRB said, the display and controller consume 40W and it is likely that the meter may not be dead accurate at such a low power reading. (It's probably more accurate when you are consuming higher amounts of power.)

BTW, 40 watts of AC power consumption is very low. Your tv, cable box and microwave oven collectively consume more than that while they are turned off.

[wgscott]

There are dual LED voltage and current displays, assorted LED indicators and a remote control IR circuit at the ready, all which consume power.  It might seem that these elements shouldn't consume 40W, but perhaps they do.  It's also possible that the monitoring displays aren't very accurate at lower power levels.

I agree.  Since current is measured in increments of 0.1 amp, the error on the power calculation will be ±12 W at 120 V.  Unfortunately, the IR control doesn't work, so this gives me some incentive to have them replace it under warranty.
 

You could plug the Power Center into a device like the P3 P4400 Kill A Watt which might help verify if the power consumption is accurate.  Available for ~ $20.

I've just asked for mine back from a friend ...
 

As far as surge protection available when not powered, I would contact Tripp-Lite.
 
Steve

Thanks.  I appreciate it.

[wgscott]

BTW, 40 watts of AC power consumption is very low. Your tv, cable box and microwave oven collectively consume more than that while they are turned off.

TV draws about 10 W and I don't have a cable box.  I've never thought to check the microwave.  I will do that as soon as I am able.

I confess to being on a bit of a Jihad because we are using about 10% more electricity than we are generating, which is psychologically devastating, and my wife won't let me fill the hot tub with sand.

Thanks for that link.  The description is much better than what came with it.