I don't know, but the power crisis in Texas should be a wake up call to stop wasting electricity. I know many people who leave their computers powered up 24/7 as well.
It should be a wake up call to review infrastructure to better assure adequate supply during a power emergency. When others start paying my electric bill they can decide what I leave on or turn off.
I wonder how many people in Texas that were lucky enough to not have power issues left all their non essential stuff on while many of their fellow Texans were freezing their asses off. About 20 years ago we had a severe ice storm that destroyed 25 percent of our grid. Our house lost power for only 8 hours but many people including the block behind us had no power at all for weeks and it was in March with freezing temps. Those who were fortunate enough to have generators were running them in their driveways 24/7. We shut off all our outside lights and kept our electricity usage to a minimum as the electric company requested everyone to only use what was absolutely necessary.
I only turn on my Alpha 91b when I’m using it....I also have spare tubes that I rotate out once a year.
Where those who were off grid suddenly get the power you didn't use? Inquiring minds need to know. I know if I didn't eat brussel sprouts some kid in Africa was starving because of that.
Well, of course not. But maybe if society in general would try to shed a few watts during such an emergency instead of taking an attitude of 'tough luck, buddy, I've got mine and that's all that counts' maybe, just maybe, it would help the grid.
Do you understand how a grid works? Texas nearly lost the entire grid because demand almost outstripped the reduced power sources. When that happens either they shut down the grid or equipment gets damaged. That's why the grid operators had to start blackouts. Otherwise they were facing months before it was fully functional again. I posted a link to the story about this in another thread. Think of it as plugging in too many energy hungry appliances into the same outlet. The more you draw the worse the situation gets until the breaker trips or a fire starts. While they were repairing our grid they asked customers to use the minimum power possible. That is what we did. There are others who ignore the plea and use as much power as they want to. Very selfish.
Use less and they'll shut down more power plants they say we don't need. The people working for those plants will be looking for a job. Tom Bodett had the right idea.
