Fire Safety and electrical appliances

[kurnal]

I have noticed that more and more home entertainment appliances - hifis, TVs etc are in permanent standby and boast very low current draw in standby mode. One new Sony stereo system for example is rated at 0.5 watt in standby, so we can no longer use the issue of energy conservation to persuade people to isolate power at the mains to support good fire safety.

Some TV receivers are also fed from a 24 volt power supply unit similar to a laptop computer and completely unswitched.

Does anybody know if these appliances are designed to provide a higher standard of fire safety in lieu of a main power switch- for example do they generally contain a thermal fuse - as radio  alarm clocks, videos etc have done for years?

Is it time to review our advice to switch off everything at the plug- or is this now more relevant than ever?

[nearlythere]

I have noticed that more and more home entertainment appliances - hifis, TVs etc are in permanent standby and boast very low current draw in standby mode. One new Sony stereo system for example is rated at 0.5 watt in standby, so we can no longer use the issue of energy conservation to persuade people to isolate power at the mains to support good fire safety.

Some TV receivers are also fed from a 24 volt power supply unit similar to a laptop computer and completely unswitched.

Does anybody know if these appliances are designed to provide a higher standard of fire safety in lieu of a main power switch- for example do they generally contain a thermal fuse - as radio  alarm clocks, videos etc have done for years?

Is it time to review our advice to switch off everything at the plug- or is this now more relevant than ever?

Interesting point Kurnal. I think the usual "switch everything off at night" bit went out long ago. The amount of electrical appliances which, for convenience purposes, are required to be left on in the domestic environment is extensive nowadays.
I am sometimes asked about this during staff training courses and normally from the domestic point of view. To give the F&R Service answer would  clearly demonstrate the absence of an appreciation of the real world and my response is usually based on the level of risk the questioner is comfortable with by leaving appliances either switched on or on standby. I advise them that to practically remove the risk they should switch everything off at night if they don't mind spending most of next day re-adjusting clocks, timers and programmes.

[John Webb]

I've just replaced an LCD TV I'd had for some six or seven years. This had a separate power supply unit (PSU) but was switched off at the TV so that the PSU was left on all the time. (I did unplug the PSU when I was away for any length of time.) The PSU never got more than slightly warm when the TV was in use, and seems to be have well-engineered. I did ensure it was always in 'free air' and never covered by anything.

My new TV, also an LCD one, has the PSU built in and so is directly connected to the mains. Interestingly the 'On/Off' switch is clearly a low-voltage push-button, not a mains switch, and so somehow turns the PSU on and off without direct mains interruption.
The safety instructions concentrate on installing the TV so that the set does not overheat due to lack of ventilation. They only recommend disconnecting from the mains if the set is not to be used for several days, or if you want to isolate the set completely or when cleaning it or installing/disconnecting AV cables.
Very curiously the instructions also suggest that the mains plug is unpluged to ".....clean it regularly. If the plug is covered with dust and picks up moisture, its insulation may deteriorate, which could result in a fire."
Now that's an instruction I've never seen before!

[Benzerari]

I have noticed that more and more home entertainment appliances - hifis, TVs etc are in permanent standby and boast very low current draw in standby mode. One new Sony stereo system for example is rated at 0.5 watt in standby, so we can no longer use the issue of energy conservation to persuade people to isolate power at the mains to support good fire safety.

Some TV receivers are also fed from a 24 volt power supply unit similar to a laptop computer and completely unswitched.

Does anybody know if these appliances are designed to provide a higher standard of fire safety in lieu of a main power switch- for example do they generally contain a thermal fuse - as radio  alarm clocks, videos etc have done for years?

Is it time to review our advice to switch off everything at the plug- or is this now more relevant than ever?

I think your enquiry answer itself, the new electric appliances use mostly low voltage monitoring infra red circuits to turn them ON/OFF, such as TVs, Air conditioning, Stereos ... etc, the low voltage circuits shouldn't cause the same fire risks as old electric appliances, it’s in fact both energy conservations and fire safety combined together