Energy cost for computer

[Cheapster]

Anybody have any rough estimate how much it costs to keep a computer running 24/7 for a month?

 

[amdskip]

i'd like to know that too!

 

[GoldenBear]

Depends where you live.

In California it'll cost roughly $2 million.

 

[Cheapster]

LOL, somebody has to know the answer.

 

[Azraele]

LOL

Well, computers draw what, 10 amps?

I'd be interested to know too. For that matter, how about tv's? My in law has hers running 27/7. She says that turning it off/on uses more energy than leaving it on all the time. Any ideas?

 

[Zenmervolt]

I don't know how much it costs to run a computer 24/7, but I do know that anyone claiming to save energy by leaving a TV on has some serious issues with reality. I remember being told that a TV was roughly the equivalent to a 500 Watt lightbulb, leaving a TV on will definitely run up an electric bill, as well as decreasing the useful life of the TV. I do know that a CRT monitor uses far more energy than the rest of the computer, so if you do leave your computer on 24/7, just turning off the monitor when it's not in use will save you on your electric bill.

Zenmervolt

 

[Windogg]

We had a similar discussion in "Distributed Computer". Through pooled knowledge, we came up with the answer, "Not much" when the monitor is off. The majority of the juice used by a computer is from the monitor.

Windogg

 

[Cheapster]

Guess I'll be shutting down my monitor on a nightly basis then. Thanks for the info folks.

 

[nullshark]

In Alberta it costs around $20 a month for an average computer to run 24/7 (that's not including the monitor). My mother works for Epcor (power company) and that's what the company says.

 

[JustX]

You can get a rough estimate by figuring how much your power supply can supply (e.g. 300 watts) minus some guess as to how much of that 300 you are actually using. Then convert the wattage to Killowatts (divide by 1000) and multiply by the $/KWH found on your electric bill. If you look at the units left over you will see that this will give you your cost per hour.

 

[sharkeeper]

Thunderbird CPU ranges from 35~78 Watts (700 to 1.3 GHz+ overvolted and overclocked)

Hard disks about 10 Watts each.

About 10 Watts per 128 MB of RAM.

Monitors up to 240 Watts for a 21" CRT. Newer monitors draw considerably less (21 in the 165W range).

Some large fans (120 MM) can use 15 watts EACH!

It does indeed add up! Electrical costs vary. 1 kW/h is 1,000 watts draw in one hour. Load in kW * hours it runs = kW/hr. For example: 275 Watts for 14 hours/day = .275x14= 3.85 kW/h per day. If you pay $0.08 per kW/h, this will cost you about 31 cents per day.

Cheers!

 

[gittyup]

In California it'll cost roughly $2 million.

Heheheheh!

But, the computer probably won't stay on that long...