Do you let Volumio idle on RPi or do you shut it down?

[Jon_ss]

Here’s a dumb question that I can’t find anybody talking about. I’ve never owned a Raspberry Pi before, and Volumio is the first and only thing that I’ve run on it for more than a few minutes. It seems like both my Pi and the SanDisk USB stick in the back are quite hot, even when I haven’t been using the device all day. So far, I’ve simply paused music playback and switched over to another source. Do I need to do more than pause playback when I’m done? Should I shut the Pi down?

I understand that my aluminum Flirc case is passively cooling the Pi, so the fact that it gets hot sometimes means its working, but surely it shouldn’t be hot all the time, right?

Volumio Information

Volumio Version: Latest standard release (Sorry, I’m at work and can’t look this up)
Hardware: Raspberry Pi 4B, 4 GB RAM, Passively-cooled Flirc case
DAC: Schiit Modi Multibit via USB

[soypeter]

Volumio default setting (in Raspberry) is to use the cpu in “performance” mode, so it runs at max speed all the time, playing music or not (and runs hot).
This is made by the designers to prevent any delay or problems in playing music.
The option is to use the cpu in “ondemand” mode, so if the device isnt playing anything, the cpu runs slower and the temperature goes down.
I’m using it this way in Rpi 4 without issues, at aprox 60 C or lower.
Here’s a tip:

How to make sure my PI4 has the firmware that fixes hot cpu?

The only way I managed to override Volumio is to use the following in /etc/rc.local sleep 5 echo ondemand >/sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu0/cpufreq/scaling_governor exit 0 Sleep has to be there or Volumio just overrides it. Perhaps @volumio should add an option for the user to change the governor in the UI, instead of it always running performance.

[Jon_ss]

Okay, that’s an educational rabbit hole that I couldn’t find on my own. Looks like the fact that Volumio runs hot all the time is a deliberate choice made by the Volumio devs:

How to make sure my PI4 has the firmware that fixes hot cpu?

Actually the difference might be the governor. Volumio uses performances while Raspbian uses ondemand. We did use performance because it’s helping with USB glitches on older PI models I repeat myself: 67 is fine as a temp

My DAC runs hot all the time and the manufacturer says I should leave it turned on, so I can accept that this is a reasonable practice for the Pi. But you run Volumio in ondemand mode… seems like a simple enough hack. I’d love to hear what others are doing, though.

[vmiguel]

I also have a Flirc case, and my Pi4 does not get hotter than 49º C and is normally around 43, wich I find pretty good.
I have a Allo Boss2, that comes in a acrilyc, bigger and ventilated case, and it gets up to 60+.

I see you found the System Information plugin, so you can now monitor the temp.

[Wheaten]

Another great case, to cool the rPi, from Geekpi
It uses the complete top cover for passive cooling.
It comes with a script to individual set temperatures for the fan when needed.

[Jon_ss]

Just to close the loop on this (in case anybody else cares), I installed the System Information plugin and started monitoring my temps. When sitting idle (still on the default performance mode), I’m running at 50C. After playing music for a few hours, I’m at 53C. Sounds like that’s all fine and good, so I’ll just leave the RPi running when I’m not using it. I just have to make sure to stop playback before I swap my DAC back to another source.

[Garageman]

I am shutting down my RaspBerry via a button and a small power ctrl Interface plus using an Ice tower for cooling.

[mlvr3]

Seems most people have their hifi equipment on standby or on all the time. Should we not all pull the main power when equipment not in use to help Mother Earth

[domchocolate]

I agree with the Mother Earth comment. I use a switch I bought from Audiophonics (https://www.audiophonics.fr/en/push-button/aluminium-push-button-and-pre-welded-connector-with-blue-light-circle-o19mm-black-p-11061.html and https://www.audiophonics.fr/en/raspberry-pi-and-other-sbc-accessories/audiophonics-pi-spc-v2-power-management-module-for-raspberry-pi-p-10912.html) and the accompanying plug-in (found in plug-ins menu) to switch my device on and off. Not only does it save electricity but it also makes the steamer feel like an authentic piece of hi-if equipment (Warp & Woof Signature T1). It only takes 30 seconds to boot - not too dissimilar to other branded Network Players I’ve owned previously.

[EdeinArthur]

My Pi which has a 3.5" HD with all my CD’s on it is on 24/4, I must say, just as all my network equipment like routers and switches.

The Pi uses very little power.

Edwin

[Alfred_the_Butler]

I wouldn’t be surprised if the energy consumed manufacturing a switch accessory and delivering it to my house via Amazon would exceed the 1.9 watts consumed leaving my Raspberry on 24/7. Just the same, I use the shutdown command and pull the plug when not using for an extended period.

[domchocolate]

I have found the button switch seems to save my flash card.

My other always on rasp pi breaks every few months.