Leave an amp "on" permanetly

I can see how it will not harm components to turn them on and off. But I am curious about the following:

How long does it take the average solid state system to 'warm up' and sound its best?

Will it shorten their life to leave them on 24/7?

And how much electricity is used when they are on but idle?

I leave mine on all time and have for years, and I dont care about the Green movement. All the Liberal tree huggers do is just buy Carbon Credits that dont mean anything, its like going to confession....you can do whatever you want as long as somebody clears you of your "sins".

I think there might be another thing to consider: possible damage to speakers if there is a power surge or interruption, or a malfunction upstream in your system, that could send a large transient through your power amp and on to your speakers.

I am driving my Thiel CS3.6's with Rowland 201 monoblocks, which draw very little power, and which could be left on 24/7 if I wanted to. Because of this concern for transients, I always switch the amps off when I'm not listening.

I can't believe how many times this has to be pointed out. By turning devices on and off you cause the components in your equipment to heat and cool. This continual stress change is the single most stressful thing that occurs to any solid state, and more horribly, tube gear. Leave a light bulb on in your house and it burns out quickly. Leave your tube gear on forever and the tubes do not age as quickly and sound better. (In comparision to a person that turns their gear off once a day).

My Audible Illusions M3A has been called a tube killer more than 5 times on AudioGon foruns alone BUT I've never had it eat up any type of tube. Ever.

I leave everything on. Always. It sounds great!
Bad for the environment? Yes.
Extra heat to cool in the spring and summer? Yes.
So, definitely not the most environmentally best thing to do.

BUT -- THE SOUND!
Just do it |/

Danlin1, I think Stevecham was referring to the "Audiophile Environment" as in our hobby and not the environment as in the planet.