to sleep or not to sleep

[drewaz]

For years, I've powered down my computer at night but now that I have an SSD I'm thinking about leaving it on and just restarting it on occasion.  Currently when it's on I don't let it sleep so it can upload my weather data to WU during the day.  Each morning overnight data is transferred from the logger to WC when I power it up and then it's uploaded to WU.  If the computer is on 24/7 does it matter if I let it sleep?

As always, TIA for your thoughts and education.

[elagache]

Dear drewaz and WeatherCat sys-admins,

For years, I've powered down my computer at night but now that I have an SSD I'm thinking about leaving it on and just restarting it on occasion.  Currently when it's on I don't let it sleep so it can upload my weather data to WU during the day.  Each morning overnight data is transferred from the logger to WC when I power it up and then it's uploaded to WU.  If the computer is on 24/7 does it matter if I let it sleep?

I have a bias against letting my computer go to sleep because it has many uses around the house including the home jukebox.  So honestly, I wasn't sure what the answer to your question actually was.  However, I needed to look no further than the WeatherCat manual.  There you will find in the frequently asked questions appendix (appendix-6, page 227):

4: Q: Is it OK to put my computer to sleep whilst running WeatherCat?
A: We do not recommend putting your computer to sleep if running WeatherCat. Instead we suggest either quitting WeatherCat before putting the computer to sleep, or shutting the computer down entirely. Alternatively, set the Energy Saver to sleep the display but never sleep the computer.

I personally have the display set to sleep after a very short interval but allow the computer to run 24/7.

Any other opinions folks?  Has anyone managed to get WeatherCat to work with sleep even if it isn't recommended? 

As always, TIA for your thoughts and education.

You are most welcome!

Cheers, Edouard

[drewaz]

Thanks for the response Edouard!  We would all be lost without you!

If I recall correctly, that FAQ has been present for at least 10 years.  It doesn't actually say why it recommends what it does or what could happen when the drive sleeps .....   and I am wondering if the general switch to SSDs from spinning hard drives changes that assessment.

Hopefully others can chime in with their experience.

Thanks again .... as always!

[drewaz]

I will confirm that in my experience the guidance in the FAQ remains solid.

I put my m1 Mac (Monterey) to sleep while WC was running.  I woke it 90 minutes later and the beach ball was spinning and WC was not responding.  I had to force quit the program.

I think my best path going forward is to check "prevent your Mac from automatically sleeping when the display is off" in the energy saver preference for day time use.  At night I'll quit WC and sleep the computer.

[Blicj11]

I agree with Edouard. I put my display to sleep, but prevent the iMac from sleeping. I have an SSD but still follow the recommendations from the WeatherCat manual.

[Weatheraardvark]

If you want your data going to WU to be current , then sending a bolus amount in the morning, will go, but only the last bit of data goes.

Depending on your setup,  you might want to turn off the display as recommended, but do watch your computers temperature, you might need an outside the case fan cooling your unit off.   

For me,  I send my data via the Weatherlink Live which is directly connected to my modem and the settings there send all my data so I have a cute graph on WU. 

So if you one the data going all the time,  do as recommended by others, but if you just one daily one value, then do as you do.

[xairbusdriver]

If you want your data going to WU to be current...

But even more important than WU, is so I can see my own data on my web site without leaving my warm, comfortable bed! When something wakes me at 3:37am, I may not want to venture into the hands of a crook, but I might need to tell the police what the temperature, pressure and wind was when I called for help! Frankly, I wouldn't trust WU to supply that! No, no.

I let the monitor go blank, but the mini keeps right on going. Heck, I ran the mini without a monitor (screen sharing, ya kno) for over 2 years!

[drewaz]

when I was shutting my computer down at bedtime and booting it in the morning, all of the overnight data was uploaded to WU.  I'm going to shake it up now .....  close WC at bedtime and put the computer to sleep  ....  in the morning launch WC and watch everything upload to WU.  this worked perfectly today.  I don't want to leave the computer awake all night.

[Steve]

My WeatherCat install has been running 24 hours a day since September 2011 on my 27" iMac  with the hybrid drive. Display sleeps, but the computer is awake.

WeatherCat, Plex Server, Security Spy, and Roon are all hosted from my computer and must be available constantly. About a dozen other applications are also always running (some in the background) such as Mail, Fantastical, 1Password, CCC, AdGuard, Dropbox, Alfred, iStats, and much more.

I restart every month or so if I think about it. Never had a problem. For that matter, I can't even recall the last time I cleaned the vents! Probably should do that...

[xairbusdriver]

Some people claim the worst thing you can do to electronic is to turn them on when they are 'cool' (being room temp). The cooling/heating of the chips eventually causes problems from the frequent contraction/expansion. It's pretty much a binary (no pun intended!) problem; ON/OFF, 1/0, Hot/Cold, Yes/No, etc. It's really your choice, even though my choice is, of course, better!

[drewaz]

Some people claim the worst thing you can do to electronic is to turn them on when they are 'cool' (being room temp). The cooling/heating of the chips eventually causes problems from the frequent contraction/expansion. It's pretty much a binary (no pun intended!) problem; ON/OFF, 1/0, Hot/Cold, Yes/No, etc. It's really your choice, even though my choice is, of course, better!

so, possibly a dumb question, but is sleep/awake the same as on/off when you talk about cooling/heating?

[elagache]

Dear X-Air, drewaz, and WeatherCat troubleshooters,

Some people claim the worst thing you can do to electronic is to turn them on when they are 'cool' (being room temp). The cooling/heating of the chips eventually causes problems from the frequent contraction/expansion.
. . . .

It is an interesting idea and computers are different from most other electronics because they produce so much heat.  I've never heard of any evidence though that computers that are powered-on and powered-off have a higher rate of failure than computers that are left on all the time. 

   . . . Of course it simply could be that I just never did hear about it! . . . 

so, possibly a dumb question, but is sleep/awake the same as on/off when you talk about cooling/heating?

Actually it is a good question!  Sleep mode powers down some components in the computer, but not all.  Depending on how effective the designers of the computer have been, the cooler the computer will get because so much many components are without power.  It also depends on how much time the computer is allowed to cool off.  If a computer gets used on and off during the day, the components may not get enough time to really cool down.

It would take more research to come up with a definitive answer.

Cheers, Edouard 

[drewaz]

I did run across a few references regarding potential detrimental effects of expansion/contraction but you see all sorts of things on the internet, right?  And I have no idea is this becomes a problem if the computer sleeps.

My computer is 'on' all day but I've been putting it to sleep over night after I close WC.  One concern I have is dust.  I have a Mac Studio and the fans runs continuously (and probably suck dust) when it's on but the fans stop when it's sleeping.  The machine is a unibody ....  there isn't a way to open it and clean out the dust so maybe having a few hours without the fans churning might be a good thing.

And I doubt being on 24/7, sleeping at night or shutting down at the end of the day is actually going to result in an issue that Apple Care won't cover but it's good to be curious and informed I guess.

[elagache]

Dear drewaz and WeatherCat faithful,

. . . .
My computer is 'on' all day but I've been putting it to sleep over night after I close WC.  One concern I have is dust. 
. . . .

It is an understandable concern that I share with you.  The computer development cycle is short and I cannot imagine that Apple engineers spend that much time worrying about dust.  Computers are getting smaller and there is less empty space where dust is harmless.

On the other hand I've once more never heard of a computer failing because of a build-up of dust.  At the moment I have too many other issues to deal with, so I'll let the dust fall where it may.

Cheers, Edouard

[drewaz]

Dear drewaz and WeatherCat faithful,

. . . .
My computer is 'on' all day but I've been putting it to sleep over night after I close WC.  One concern I have is dust. 
. . . .

"On the other hand I've once more never heard of a computer failing because of a build-up of dust.  At the moment I have too many other issues to deal with, so I'll let the dust fall where it may."

Cheers, Edouard

and I will follow your sage advice.  I have spent too many years doing risk management ....  and I'm going to let it go!!!!!