Leaving the router on 24/7 ?

[#1]

I`m new to Plusnet and I know the manual says to leave the router on all the time to get the best speed and performance but I`ve heard so many conflicting stories that it`s not a good idea because of the threat of hacking, also I`m very energy  and safety conscious (more so since my friend had a house fire caused by a TV left on and overheating) and at night everything in our house gets switched off  and plugs pulled out (apart from the fridge/freezer of course).  Also read that the router can get overheated if left on all the time.    Is speed and performance really affected that much if the router is switched off at night (I always got into the habit of switching everything off at night with my old router with AOL and didn`t notice a drop in speed or performance)

[#2]

This actual question has been tackled more than once under previous threads.
If you want to see them just type someting like 'routers' in the search box.
My reading of the general consensus was that it's ok to switch the router off over night (which is what I usually do) and no noticeable effect will happen to your speeds.
The possible problems occur if you switch off the router every time you switch off the PC.

[#3]

The previous post is correct.
Before you start regularly powering off your router, you should check your current connection speed, in the members area, under My Account > Connection Settings > High Speed Internet
If the speed starts being reduced, after you power off/on router, then your download speeds will start being affected.
My father in law, always powered off his router and ended up with a connection that was unuseable until we worked out what he was doing !

[#4]

I think most people will say leave it switched on,except when away from home for more than a few days.
The Plusnet advice is here
http://is.gd/pt2LyA

[#5]

I've plugged my Netgear DG834v4 into my energy monitor which shows a power consumption of 4 watts, irrespective of what the router is "doing" (although in my case it's only connected to 1 PC via ethernet.)
So, in cost terms, assuming a unit charge (kilowatt hour) of around 12p, daily cost (24 hrs) is [(24x4)/1000] x 12 = 1.2p
That's 8.064 pence per week, £4.19 per year - not a lot (although other routers/usage may well vary!)

[#6]

Thanks for your input JayG but I think you will find that this thread is about the risk rather than the cost........

[#7]

@community

Quote from: annerimmington

I`m very energy  and safety conscious

[#8]

Quote from: annerimmington

I`m very energy  and safety conscious (more so since my friend had a house fire caused by a TV left on and overheating) and at night everything in our house gets switched off

I have been with +net 3months now and turn my router off overnight (by disconnecting first via the routers interface)
the only downside is that the plusnet "Current Line Speed” never gets chance to sync with the BT Profile, but i can live with that.
FWIW i have had 4 house fires, admittedly over a 50year period, two of them relatively recently caused by faulty elec items, so everything inside the house gets turned off overnight apart from the smoke detectors 

mike

[#9]

Hi annerimmington,
As you are on 21CN I don't think it makes as much difference as it used to. Now, when you resync, you get a new profile each time, so unless you pick up a bad sync rate and it changes our system, you are unlikely to see any adverse effects.
Jojo