Soulgirl

I have been told that you should turn off TFT monitors when not in use to conserve the light bulbs (sorry for that technical term) and to ensure the longevity of said light source.

Our IT man here at work says to leave them on 24/7 as it uses more power when switching them on again!

Even if the screen turns black in standby mode it is still utilising the light source so to turn it off surely makes sense.

Anyone got the technical answer for this query?

boxst

Hello

By "leave on", do you mean let it go in to stand by mode? Even that uses quite alot of energy. I have got in to the habit of switching off my monitor on the evening (even though the computer is on downloading stuff).

It's a myth that switching things on and off uses more power, it does however stress the components more.

Steve.

jowl

I hardly ever turn my TFT off...though I will turn the CRT monitor off it I'm downloading a big file or virus checking etc.er....Hope that helps!

Soulgirl

When I say leave on, yes, I mean it goes into screensaver or standby mode. Ive been told this still uses the light source even though the screen is black.

I had an old tft that was so dim I had to put it in the bin in the end - I was told it would have lasted longer had I switched it off when not in use. *shrug*

jowl

My last one was never turned off and was 100% working when I sold it after 2 years.

Can't see there been a problem really!

DrEvil

There may be a tiny electrical current going through all the components in standby mode - but as mentioned above, I would have thought turning it off n on all the time would do more harm that leaving it on.

IMHO, of course.

RoosterRoo

If you regularly turn the monitor on and off it sould not make any difference to the reliability. If however you leave your monitor on for a very long time and then turn it off and on you could be looking at trouble. A TFT screen will have a certain lifespan (normally quoted in working hours), stated by the manufacturer. If you leave the screen on constantly it wil be eating into the lifespan of the components. IMHO I think it is better to turn the screen off when it is not in use, both to improve the lifespan, and to stop the electricity meter spinning any faster than it has too!

pan93wrx

recommend to turn off. the lcd backlight normaly will only last for ??? hours and on some tft's you can't replace the backlight.

Soulgirl

Backlight.. that's the word I was looking for LOL. The old iiyama I had would have cost £60 plus p&p to buy two new tubes so opted to throw away and buy a new one instead.

Off it is then

Nicks VR4

I turn mine off when not in use dont see the point leaving it running if your not using it (tight git I guess lol )

Soulgirl

Im not worried about the leckie consumption, more the lifespan of the monitor. However, having recently swapped out all the crt's in the house, our leckie bill has reduced by £10 a month!