electrickery

[kbentz]

ok this might be a bit OT but here goes.

now that im running internet 24/7 which i never had the luxury of doing before, my machine stays on 24 hrs a day, which is cool, but just a silly little question. has anyone worked out in rands and cents what it costs for the electricity for a pc to run non stop for a whole month? um take into account the monitor is in sleep mode 90% of the time i'd say. surely cant be as much as running a 24/7 light bulb?

 

[TheRoDent]

I'm not sure what the exact numbers are here, but just look at the power rating of the average PC power supply. 250-350 watts. And it's normally not even running close to it's capacity. I'd budget on around 200watts for a machine in "idle" consumption mode, and that's probably way over what it really is.

That's equivalent to running two lightbulbs 24/7. Which if you look at your energy bill, is almost insignificant. Your geyser is a monstrous consumer of energy. Just running a few stoveplates for an hour or two will top that.


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[TrXtR]

Ey, you can get the costs running from eskom.
Use your power suply value for worse case scenario.
But it pulls very little.
I run 2 pc's 24 hourse a day, for 2 months now,
And I'm getting a increase of about R50.

Just dont keep your screen on the whole time That might be rather ... err

There's some web-sites that gives the average. of computer usage.
In wats. It's not much.

 

[kbentz]

yeah, not trying to be too petty, just a thought that went thru my mind

 

[bb_matt]

Just turn the monitors off and run in energy save mode if your worried.

I have 2 PC's and a UPS running 24/7 at home and my landlord has never complained about power consumption

 

[Kai]

ha! we run FIVE PCs at home... all the time - and our bill is never higher than R160 - too much trouble to switch them off... besides, downloads can't run without electricity!

I haven't lost my mind... It's backed up on disk somewhere...

 

[Kaptain Khaos]

if you can afford my wireless im sure you can afford the electricity !!

<b>in chaos all things are harmonious</b>
<i>Tower 82 14% Signal 512k package </i>

 

[Kai]

The man has a point!

I haven't lost my mind... It's backed up on disk somewhere...

 

[Donovan]

Hmm...

Unless it's a server.. when it's not in use, turn it off. It will also reduce your risk of being the victim of a power surge/dip.

 

[Kai]

that man ALSO has a point... too many points... getting confused...

*thud* - meltdown...

[]

I haven't lost my mind... It's backed up on disk somewhere...

 

[desraid]

I run 2 PCs and I switch them off when they are not used.
And I have a TV, Fridge, Geyser, Stove, Microwave and my bill is not less than R180 per month.

Do you guys think that switching on/off consumes more than leaving them on??

 

[TheVoice]

Not sure about that...but it's better for your computer components of they're either left switched on, or switched off. Regular switching on and off (as many people do) puts more stress on the components due to heat and other factors.

 

[Perdition]

I agree, it's far better to leave your PC's on. These days PC components are designed with 24/7 usage in mind as more people are running home servers. As for power consumption your PC doesn't draw much if it's idling and you turn your monitor off when you're away, probably somewhere around 200W as TheRoDent suggested and that's for a power hungry P4.

One suggestion I would make is to get a UPS as it filters out the surges and dips in the power. You can get a 600VA (360W) UPS for under R500 these days.

 

[bb_matt]

I second that - a UPS is a must for a stable system.

 

[kbentz]

thanks guys, started as quite a silly thread but have ended up getting some good info off it... told you this mywireless thing has become a fulltime hobby!

 

[Kai]

hehehe. it is indeed...

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