If you want to switch off your television or TV set quickly, you shouldn’t do it via the power strip. Because you can damage your expensive device with it.
There are power strips in pretty much every household because they are extremely practical: If you switch off the strips, you reduce power consumption to an absolute minimum. You can also multiply the single socket on the wall and connect more devices.
But if you have connected your TV to a power strip, you should be careful. Because you can also damage your device with it if you are not careful.
Increased wear and tear
Inside your TV there are a lot of delicate components and circuits that the device needs in order for the TV to function properly. Simply turning off the power can also accelerate wear and tear on the electronics.
This is especially true for newer OLED TVs: these devices run protection systems at regular intervals to prevent the burn-in effect. However, these refresher programs will not play until you turn off your TV or put it on standby.
However, if you simply disconnect your OLED TV from the power supply, this can damage the panel over time because such protective mechanisms cannot then be implemented.
Updates on standby
Your television usually also performs software updates when the device is in standby. This is especially true for TV sets that are connected to the Internet. The device is not used by you in standby and then updates are installed so as not to disturb you.
However, simply turning off your model at that moment could prevent or interrupt the process. However, some modern devices indicate when an update is due.
Instead, switch off the device properly and not just send it to standby
If you still want to switch off your TV using the power strip, then you should definitely switch your TV off properly and not just send it to standby. Normally this is done via your remote control. If you then use your power strip, you reduce the possible problems to a minimum.
But keep in mind: Neither updates nor the protective functions of OLED devices work in standby.
What can you do instead? Some manufacturers recommend in their accompanying manual that you should plug your TV directly into the wall socket. That would keep problems to a minimum. But not everyone necessarily has enough sockets on the wall.
A second option would be to take a power strip with permanent sockets. If you switch the socket strip here, the permanent sockets remain permanently active and thus also the connected television, while all other sockets on the strip are switched off.
A power strip with two permanent plugs would be this model from the German manufacturer Brennenstuhl:
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Do I have to turn off the TV at all? On top of that, some testers, such as those from Stiftung Warentest, are now declaring that the standby consumption of modern televisions is very low anyway. Modern devices often consume less than 1 watt per hour. Other devices consume significantly more in comparison.
Instead, you should rather disconnect other devices from the power supply, such as a microwave, a toaster or your electric toothbrush. These are all objects that don’t have to be connected to electricity if you don’t use them anyway.
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