Routers have become, along with refrigerators, one of the few devices that have the “honor” of being plugged in 24 hours a day . Even the refrigerator is usually stopped at times, but the router is always on. But, do you have to turn off the router or WiFi at night to sleep?
Some still believe that WiFi is bad for your health. However, the Wi-Fi power is only 100 or 200 mW depending on whether we use the 2.4 or 5 GHz network. That power is negligible, and also the wave spectrum used is within non-ionizing waves . That is, these waves cannot rip electrons from the atoms of a molecule.
Wi-Fi has no harmful effects on health
In comparison, the energy transmitted to us, for example, by a person if we come into contact with them, is much greater, since we are receiving heat in the form of infrared radiation. X-rays, however, can remove electrons, and that is why we must protect ourselves when we take an X-ray.
The physicist Alberto Nájera compiled in a thread the conclusions of a systematic review of the studies that have been done regarding the effect of WiFi waves on health. In it, the conclusion was clear: “we found little evidence that WiFi exposure is a health risk in the everyday environment, where exposure levels are often considerably lower than ICNIRP reference values.”
Health effects of WiFi radiation? A new systematic review.
Spoiler: na de na.
There I go 👇. https://t.co/JZ4mS5pcCz
— Alberto Nájera with 😷 in 🏠, 🧍♂️ 🚧 🧍♀️ and 💉💉 (@najera2000) September 8, 2021
However, there are those who think that it is necessary to turn off the router , or at least disconnect the WiFi at night to avoid being in contact with the signal. The reality is that, for example, if you live in an apartment, you are already surrounded by your neighbors’ WiFi, and turning off yours will not make any difference.
You can save a few euros per light year
Therefore, at the health level there is no difference between turning off the router or not. It is different if you want, for example, to save electricity . In that case, you may want to turn off the router. If you are not going to use the router all night, you may want to turn it off if you are not home, or program a smart plug.
On average, a router consumes between 5 and 10 W. Per day, assuming the maximum consumption of 10 W, we have a consumption of 240 W. If we turn it off for 8 hours, we will be saving 80 W per day, or 2.4 kWh per day. month. That, with an average price of 25 cents per kWh in recent months, we have that each month we can be saving 60 cents of electricity , or 7.2 euros per year. It is not too much for the inconvenience of constantly turning the router off and on, but it is something that must be taken into account if we want to reduce the phantom consumption in the electricity bill .
In short, it is not worth turning off the router to save electricity, and there is no change in terms of health because the WiFi waves are totally harmless .
