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Powering Monitors with Smart Outlet

timbit2006

timbit2006

A Member
Hello,
Has anyone here used their studio monitors with any of the commonly available smart outlets?

I've not fully done the research on this topic yet but ideally I want to have my monitors automatically switch on and off after periods of inactivity or at the very least when my PC goes into standby after an hour or so. For a typical stereo setup power draw is not an issue but with a full Atmos setup with 9 monitors drawing 60w each and a sub the overall thermal buildup and idle power consumption can be a bit costly.
I know there are already monitors with "standby" modes but when you have what you have, you have what you have and you do what you gotta do.
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I don't have studio monitors plugged into them, but I have other smart outlets (TP-Link Kasa) around the house. Not sure how they're going to know that your PC is idle- IFTTT is a common platform for connecting different automation apps and I can't find anything that matches.

You can connect them all to different switches and have those switches run on timers, or turn off when you leave the house/studio. Easier to have one button than 12, for sure. That being said, wouldn't it be easier to plug them all into a single rack strip and control from a physical switch? Mine are in a PylePro 9 switch rack so I can only turn on what I need at any moment, but you can just get one big switch for all of them.
 
fakemaxwell said:
I don't have studio monitors plugged into them, but I have other smart outlets (TP-Link Kasa) around the house. Not sure how they're going to know that your PC is idle- IFTTT is a common platform for connecting different automation apps and I can't find anything that matches.

You can connect them all to different switches and have those switches run on timers, or turn off when you leave the house/studio. Easier to have one button than 12, for sure. That being said, wouldn't it be easier to plug them all into a single rack strip and control from a physical switch? Mine are in a PylePro 9 switch rack so I can only turn on what I need at any moment, but you can just get one big switch for all of them.
Click to expand...
From what I've been reading you need to use a raspberry pi to run Home Assistant then the raspberry pi is what interfaces with the PC through network as far as I can tell.


I'll have a physical power conditioner of course but I'd rather just have the convenience of being able to just get out of my chair and leave without having to remember anything.
 
I have physical switches for different sections of my studio array like this one (1 for LCR, 1 for the surrounds in case I need 5.1, and then 1 for the rest of the Atmos setup), additionally 1 for the DAW, and 1 for everything in different uses... All I do when I leave the studio, is switch everything off (can't forget about that! All I do when I leave is make sure "no lights are on", including power switches), when I come back, switch on what I need...

That way, I use 0 power when away (I know smart plugs use a few watts, but still), and I only turn on what I need (no point in having a whole 7.1.4 running if I'm only gonna use a Stereo array, etc).

I guess I prefer analogic tech for that! :)
 
timbit2006 said:
From what I've been reading you need to use a raspberry pi to run Home Assistant then the raspberry pi is what interfaces with the PC through network as far as I can tell.
Click to expand...
Ah cool, haven't looked into Home Assistant. I have a Pi NAS and it works great, they're cheap enough that it's worth a shot.
 
I've considered some form of automation, but right now I'm following in the footsteps of AudioBrewers - just not quite as fancy. (I really like that idea!)

I think the ideal would be manual switches that are managed by some form of automation. And I would suggest you insure that the automation knows how to shut down your computers (and anything else picky) gracefully.
 
AudioBrewers said:
That way, I use 0 power when away (I know smart plugs use a few watts, but still), and I only turn on what I need (no point in having a whole 7.1.4 running if I'm only gonna use a Stereo array, etc).
Click to expand...

I have the exact same tactic as well- it also helps to keep the extra hardware to last longer when it's not constantly up and running without a reason.
 
I already have everything running through various power conditioners on switches.
I'm not diligent enough to power them off myself. I think the stovelight might have been on for well over more than a week now and I still have forgot to turn it off every day in the morning so there's an example haha.
I really don't care if the power bill is higher because things are on, in this situation I just care about thermal buildup in the house. As is I already have this issue with my normal 5.1 amp so being surrounded with a ring of heaters is maybe something I'd like to avoid in the summer months.

If there is no software based solution I can always wire up a subpanel with relay box inside of it that detects when the PC current draw is under a set amount(it's sleeping). I could also probably do the same with the monitor's current draw.
 
I have smart plugs for all the gear, it's connected to Philips Hue Bridge which I control via StreamDeck (it's all instant and even supports different animations for on/off).
 
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