People looking to save on electricity bills by turning off their Wi-Fi at night have been warned that it could hamper the reliability of their internet connection. Ofgem has announced an increase in the energy price cap which will come into effect from October, and the average price for electricity is expected to leap from 18p/kWh to 52p p/kWh.
But ahead of another expected surge in January 2023, homeowners are being warned against some cost-cutting measures. In particular, some may be looking to save on the cost of running their broadband router, which will amass to around 13p per day, the Express reports.
While turning off the flashing black box may shave a few pennies from your daily outgoings, it could also seriously hamper your internet connection. Most of the UK's leading Internet Service Providers (ISPs), including Sky and BT recommend leaving their internet equipment switched on 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
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There are a litany of important reasons as to why one should not cut off these devices, including vital security updates - which are usually pumped out overnight. By preventing your router from allowing the latest upgrades and software patches, you may be left exposed to annoying bugs and cyber attacks.
Another issue is that by switching off a router, ISPs may think that there is an instability or fault in your area. Once this has been noted by professionals, suppliers often slow down speeds to ensure customers are connected.
Aman Bhatti, Director of Propositions for Sky Broadband, told Express.co.uk: “We know our routers are put through their paces during the day – whether on video calls, streaming the latest show, or online gaming. That’s why our routers run firmware updates during the night, to avoid any unnecessary disruption during the day.
"Switching off your router overnight can affect automatic software updates and optimisations which in turn can impact the overall performance, speed and stability of your Broadband. Other connected devices in the home that are connected to your router will also be disrupted by the delayed updates.
"All our current hubs are EU Eco Design Regulation approved, meaning no excessive energy consumption is being used."
BT also offer similar advice to users, with the popular supplier chipping in: "It’s important to make sure that you leave your Hub switched on and connected at all times. This will let us give you the fastest and most stable service, and ensure your hub is kept updated.
"Constantly switching off the hub makes the line look unstable, meaning that your speed may be automatically reduced to improve the reliability of your broadband connection."
If you're looking for ways to cut down on expenditure, then it's a fantastic idea to stop leaving TVs and gaming consoles on standby, and turn them off completely by the wall. Leaving a 4k TV on standby can amount to £24 per year, while a PS5 which is left running can hamper you £12 per annum - even when you're not using it.
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