Comments on: The Greenest Routers Of 2008

By: Tom Harrison

Tom Harrison — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 02:59:46 +0000

This all seems a bit abstract to me. I recently purchased Apple’s (poorly-named) Time Machine, which has a fine wireless router, print server, as well as a hard drive for storage to replace my existing Linksys wireless router + Windows PC server.

The Apple router, according to my Kill-a-watt meter, draws a mere 12 Watts (18 when the hard drive is active, but it idles within a minute).

The existing Linksys, draws 14 Watts (and has no hard disk). And of course the 24×7 PC is a pig, drawing 90 Watts.

Anything we can do to reduce the draw by devices plugged in and active all the time is a good thing. But let’s quantify the benefit.

While I will reduce my overall consumption by almost 100 Watt-hours per hour, I still measure some 300 Watts of additional “standby” power being drawn in my otherwise efficient household. Doubtless this is from the many “vampire” transformers powering all those little gizmos around my house (phones, clocks, TV, and others).

So a green router is wonderful … and I’ll bet Apple’s selections in this arena are pretty solid, the real measure is simple: how much power does it actually use in real life.

Tom Harrison

By: Eric

Eric — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 17:27:22 +0000

I’m all for improved technology and if you have a router on all the time (like a business), then this makes sense. But for most home users I think it would be better and more cost efficient (the routers listed above aren’t cheap… I just looked!) to just put the router and modem on a power strip and turn it on just when you need it — improve security too, not a chance anyone can hack into your computers if the thing isn’t even on! Call it 1 billion bit encryption.

By: cephoe

cephoe — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 01:02:21 +0000

Yes, hopefully they will be incorporating this feature into new routers, and including it in firmware update.

This new Belkins router lets you turn off the lights:

http://tinurl.us/ebef12

By: Bill S.

Bill S. — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 00:04:05 +0000

John B, that’s a fantastic idea. Why not have it as a setting in the control page, like D-Link allows for the status lights on its security / webcams? Maybe they can do this in a new firmware update with the existing routers, and only automatically turn on the lights when a connection is broken or some other connection issue, so that it’s easy to see. Someone should email them on this (though I have my doubts they’d listen…!).

By: John B

John B — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 23:50:23 +0000

Well, I won’t be happy until they make some gear without large really bright blinking LEDs in them!

Most customers do not need LEDs and many ‘geeks’ know what is going on when the router is down. Give me a button to turn on a few dim LEDs to check port status and I’m more than happy (no LEDs would be just fine as well. don’t mind a small power LED if its acting in place of a resistor…)