[ale] OT: Calculating PC power consumption

[Geoffrey]

Doug McNash wrote:
> FWIW:
> 
> I have 3 machines with about 9-10 disks in them and a 19" CRT  monitor 
> running off a UPS.  The UPS reports I am using about 380 watts steady state.
> One of my motherboard manuals says the bareboard will draw 200-300 watts.  I 
> have 3+ so both can't be right?  My machines are mostly idle.

I find it highly unlikely your mb is drawing 200+ watts constantly.
That's likely a max value, not an average usage.  24 hours of use at
that rate translates to 4.8 kwh.  A rough calculation on my current
electrical rate, that would cost you .38/day or roughly $11.40/month.

In such a situation that would say my electrical bill should be, say
$10/month per computer, 11 * $10 = $110 a month, increase.  I assure you
that's not the case.

Another way to measure this would be to shutoff your major electrical
devices (air conditioning, refrigrator...), measure the kwh usage on
your meter outside with said computers running.  Then, shut the
computers down, and take another measure.  Obviously this would be a
rough estimate, but it would work.  Generally you can shut your
refrigrator off for an hour or so without causing problems with the food
inside.  Sounds kinda crazy, but hey, saves you buying any hardware
you're not likely to use very often...

-- 
Until later, Geoffrey