Didn't realize how much my automation panel draws just sitting idle

Started by Marcus Reed · · 4 replies
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#1
Been tracking kWh on everything since I set up the VS pump schedule, and this week I finally clamped the meter on my automation panel itself, not the pump. Thing pulls about 40 watts round the clock just to keep the board and relays alive, pump off, everything off. Doesn't sound like much until you do the math, 40W times 8760 hours is around 350 kWh a year just for the panel to sit there thinking. That's more than I expected from a box that isn't running anything.

Not saying it's a waste, I like being able to check flow and salt readings from my phone, but I always assumed standby draw on this stuff was basically nothing. Curious if anyone else has actually measured their panel or valve actuators at rest, wondering if 40W is normal or if mine's got something drawing more than it should.

4 Replies

#2
I don't run automation, just a plain timer on the Raypak and manual reads off the panel, so I've never clamped a meter on standby draw, but 40 watts round the clock does seem like a lot for a board that isn't firing anything, that would nag at me too if I saw it in writing like that.
#3
I don't have full automation so I can't compare apples to apples, but does that 40W include any valve actuators sitting energized, or is that purely the board and relays themselves. Big difference if you've got actuators holding position 24/7 versus just a screen and some relays idling.
#4
No automation here so I can't give you a real number to compare, but derek's question is the one that actually matters before you go chasing a problem, 40W could be totally normal for a board with a transformer and a screen staying lit, or it could be actuators holding torque against a spring return which is a different animal entirely. I'd bet money it's not "wrong," these boards have wall warts and transformers that run warm just sitting there doing nothing useful, that's just how a lot of low voltage stuff is built, not efficient but not broken either. For what it's worth if you really want to know, unplug things one at a time off that circuit and watch the clamp meter move, that'll tell you more than doing the math on the whole panel as one lump.
#5
I don't run full automation either, mine's just the heat pump and the Proteus doing their own thing, so I can't give you a number to stack up against your 40 watts. But Jason's point about the transformer running warm doing nothing useful, that tracks with just about everything low voltage I've owned, the cable box, the garage door opener, all of it sips power sitting there whether you use it or not. If I were chasing it down I'd do exactly what he said, isolate the actuators from the board itself before you assume anything's wrong, could just be the nature of the beast and not a fault at all.