I've seen people recommend putting printers behind a smart plug that can be turned on or off with a phone. Does this make sense power-wise? How much current does a printer in standby draw versus a typical smart plug like a WeMo?
Electrical – Does it make sense power-wise to put a smart plug inline with a laser printer
electrical
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The fixture itself is typically used as the junction box. Just make sure to use a bushing or grommet to protect the cable where it enters the fixture. These Push in grommets are useful for this.
Since you have an old car battery, the cost of damaging it by overcharging isn't much ($40?) and that would only happen if it got a lot of sun over weeks. A small home solar system might have thousands of dollars of batteries, so standard practice has long been for those to always have charge controllers.
For small systems the cost of a charge controller used to be significant so it was common to forego it in favor of simplicity. However, there are now very - inexpensive - controllers which no longer as easily justify the old practice.
If you can afford an additional $25, you might as well do it right. Also, it would come with instructions on what to do.
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Best Answer
This is really a matter of preference and opinion. In my opinion the amount of current being used is not significant enough to warrant turning them off for short periods of time (10 hours or less). It's always a good idea to shut everything down during long periods like when you're gone for the weekend or vacation.
In my opinion it's healthier to leave electronic equipment on since turning them off and on adds stress to the system. Think of an incandescent light. It burns out when changing state, usually off to on because the element is heating up and cooling off. It's not much different with electronic equipment.
By the way I own three printers a laser, an inkjet and a wide carriage and I really don't see appreciable utility usage.
All that being said, if you are traveling or for some reason you need to turn your stuff on/off from a remote location, it's certainly convenient to have the ability.
Hope this helps.