Do we have to turn off WiFi when we are not using it?
We practically live connected all day, with only the hours of sleep in which we disconnect from the Internet. That is why you may have doubts about what to do with the WiFi router during those hours or any other time when the network is not being used because you are away from home or for whatever reason.
We are going to analyze if it is worth turning off the WiFi when we are not using it from various aspects. With home routers, you can get into the habit of turning them off, but there’s really no reason to.
Wi-Fi doesn’t use as much energy to turn it off
Let’s start from the energy point of view, now that electricity is through the roof. Perhaps you have thought that it is one of the expendable objects at certain times of the day or night. If the router is not being used, why have it on?
gaming router
Well, something off will always consume less than something on, no matter how small that consumption is. If maximum savings are intended, turning off at night may make sense. But even so, an average router, with a consumption between 8 and 20 W, can have a consumption of about 20 euros a year, which would be the savings on the bill. If you want to save in that sense, an interesting option is to look for the function of turning off the wireless network at night, at a chosen time. Not all routers have it, but it is certainly better for the router.
router durability
Another argument in favor is that routers never rest if they are not turned off, and that shortens their life. In the first place, every technological product has a more or less determined duration with maximum use.
Wifi
But really when a router suffers the most is when it has a lot of activity and workload. If at night it is released and no one in the home requires the Internet connection, the router will be practically at rest. In addition, today they are fully prepared to withstand very large demands, compared to those of a few years ago.
No health effects
Another point of view that you may have raised is that of health. If at night you are not using the router and it is broadcasting, it may be better to leave those waves on standby until the next morning.
Health effects of WiFi radiation? A new systematic review.
Spoiler: na de na.
Here I go 👇.https://t.co/JZ4mS5pcCz
– Alberto Nájera 🔻 (@najera2000) September 8, 2021
There is a growing myth about the electromagnetic hypersensitivity, and the reality is that it does not exist. As for Wi-Fi radiation, it is non-ionizing, so it cannot interact with DNA and cause cancer or alter health. And if it did, it would do it both during the night and during the day, so the general advice would be to turn off the router all day and do without the Internet.
