Kill-O-Watt readings for HTPC

[rtengvad]

Originally Posted by davephan

You might check out replacing the mercury vapor lights with high pressure sodium lights. I installed high pressure sodium lights at a previous house a couple decades ago. At the time, I calculated the cost to replace mercury vapor lights with high pressure sodium lights. The difference in electrical costs made the 'payback' time period 16 months. If you drive around at night or fly over a city, almost all of the outdoor lighting you see is from high pressure sodium lights. Many decades ago mercury vapor lights dotted the landscape, but they are gone now, just like the corner phone booth.

Dave

I believe also high pressure sodium is now out dated. Over here all HP sodium lights are being replaced with metal halogen or LED.

Rasmus

[Bagal]

Originally Posted by tvmaster2

Are you turning them on and off, running in standby, what exactly?

Originally Posted by bjterry62

I checked all my PCs (those on 24/7)...

He said these are the PCs running 24/7, I can understand the Sage server and Unraid server, but I see no reason to run the clients 24/7, that just seems a complete waste to me, unless of course these are being used 24/7

In my setup, I have one box which serves the same purpose as your Unraid and Sage servers, I can understand the redundancy having 2 boxes but I'd rather save the power with just one box and the time having to maintain 2 boxes.

[tvmaster2]

Originally Posted by Bagal

He said these are the PCs running 24/7, I can understand the Sage server and Unraid server, but I see no reason to run the clients 24/7, that just seems a complete waste to me, unless of course these are being used 24/7

In my setup, I have one box which serves the same purpose as your Unraid and Sage servers, I can understand the redundancy having 2 boxes but I'd rather save the power with just one box and the time having to maintain 2 boxes.

I saw that he said that, but his numbers just didn't add up compared to my single machine running 24/7 and costing so much more, hence the question about his kwh charges.

did my own math: approx .17 per kwh is how he's doing his math

[panteragstk]

Originally Posted by bastafidli

I recommend to use powertochoose.org to research available rates. I am in Dallas as well and have rate under 0.10 for 100% renewable energy.

Thanks!

[BobPhoenix]

Originally Posted by tvmaster2

I've tested this using standby, and it seems to work. I assume it CAN'T wake up the computer from full hibernation, or is that supposed to work as well? So far, I haven't been able to achieve that.
Any thoughts?

I have two SageTV servers waking from hibernation currently. The motherboard is incapable of sleeping (SuperMicro X7SBE) just hibernation so I had no choice. Working well for me so far. Didn't really do anything special just made sure ACPI was on in bios and made sure nothing in Win7x64 was set to keep the PC awake in "Advanced Power Settings" like the "Multi Media settings".

[ToadMazter]

I know all my gadgets cost me a bunch, even though my latest Sage server build only pulls about 65 watts. Sll I can do is weep when I get my monthly PG&E bill. I'd do backflips if I could get my average to under $300 a month for electricty (I average over $620 now, and . At the 40 cents per kilowatt I'm paying, going solar is probably my next project if I can save up enough... if I could only resist buying new gadgets!

[tvmaster2]

Originally Posted by ToadMazter

I know all my gadgets cost me a bunch, even though my latest Sage server build only pulls about 65 watts. Sll I can do is weep when I get my monthly PG&E bill. I'd do backflips if I could get my average to under $300 a month for electricty (I average over $620 now, and . At the 40 cents per kilowatt I'm paying, going solar is probably my next project if I can save up enough... if I could only resist buying new gadgets!

.40 per kwh? and I thought SDGE were robber barons

[tvmaster2]

Originally Posted by Opus4

Solar is one possible option, which is what I'm doing this spring, but its payback period depends on where you live. NJ has one of the best incentive programs in the US, with payback estimated to be 4-6 years. A lot of other states take much longer; a 10-20+ year payback period wouldn't be nearly as tempting.

- Andy

so, now that a couple of years have passed, can you tell how your electric bills have been effected since your solar conversion? It's always good to see what real-world numbers are after all four seasons have come and gone.

Solar in Ca. is pricey, but if rates keep skyrocketing (our new rates are .37 per kwh for top tier, which is up 33% in less than a year - salary didn't go up that much, sadly), we may consider the long-term investment.

that would be great info if you could share it, thanks

[davenlr]

Interesting thread. My HTPC (4th gen i7, SSD, 4 2TB green drives, 23" led monitor, and a 60 Watt equiv LED Cree bulb (9 watts) comprises my Sage server. Depending on how many drives are spun up, the total is 65w to 90w.

Converted the whole house over to 40w and 60w equiv Cree LED bulbs at $5/$6 ea, and replaced the two 40W CFL tubes in the overhead fixtures to one 20W LED tube (same light output 1/4 the power), and replaced all 20 landscape light bulbs with LED bulbs as well. Replaced the 150W outdoor floods with 35 watt high pressure sodium. Wont know for sure until next summer how much Ill save, but this summer I was running around $250 a month for a 950 sq ft house with the A/C running approx 16 hours a day.

[tvmaster2]

Originally Posted by davenlr

Interesting thread. My HTPC (4th gen i7, SSD, 4 2TB green drives, 23" led monitor, and a 60 Watt equiv LED Cree bulb (9 watts) comprises my Sage server. Depending on how many drives are spun up, the total is 65w to 90w.

Converted the whole house over to 40w and 60w equiv Cree LED bulbs at $5/$6 ea, and replaced the two 40W CFL tubes in the overhead fixtures to one 20W LED tube (same light output 1/4 the power), and replaced all 20 landscape light bulbs with LED bulbs as well. Replaced the 150W outdoor floods with 35 watt high pressure sodium. Wont know for sure until next summer how much Ill save, but this summer I was running around $250 a month for a 950 sq ft house with the A/C running approx 16 hours a day.

I was looking at landscape LEDs, but they're pretty pricey. 16 hours of AC for only $250? what part of the country do you get this rates?

[Opus4]

Originally Posted by tvmaster2

so, now that a couple of years have passed, can you tell how your electric bills have been effected since your solar conversion? It's always good to see what real-world numbers are after all four seasons have come and gone.

When we installed the solar panels, our 12 month electricity usage was over 22,000 kWhrs. Somehow, we brought that down to just over 18,000 kWhrs for the past 12 months. The biggest change was probably replacing an old refrigerator that died, but we also switched over to mostly LED bulbs now and replaced a couple older computers. On the other hand, we also added under-tile electric heat in remodeled bathrooms and a heat pump for the pool, so those should have boosted electric use. Maybe the old refrigerator was really bad.

Solar generation is averaging just under 18,000 kWhrs per year so far, so our SunPower panels are producing much more than originally estimated. Our total electric bill for the past 12 months was under $150, $30 of which is the fixed cost monthly service fee. It used to be around $4000 per year.

NJ SREC pricing has nose-dived, so our initial solar payback period estimate of 4-5 years is higher, but it will still pay for itself.

Our electric use is about to change again, though, because we just installed geothermal heating & cooling (technically geo-exchange, but everyone says geothermal). So, I imagine our yearly electric use will go up, but our gas use will go to near zero (just what is used to run a clothes dryer and a backup generator).

- Andy

[tvmaster2]

Originally Posted by Opus4

Solar generation is averaging just under 18,000 kWhrs per year so far, so our SunPower panels are producing much more than originally estimated.

NJ SREC pricing has nose-dived, so our initial solar payback period estimate of 4-5 years is higher, but it will still pay for itself.

Our electric use is about to change again, though, because we just installed geothermal heating & cooling (technically geo-exchange, but everyone says geothermal). So, I imagine our yearly electric use will go up, but our gas use will go to near zero (just what is used to run a clothes dryer and a backup generator).

- Andy

wow..that's brilliant. are those 100w panels? how many?
I have a friend who runs a B&B who installed a geothermal system a couple of years back and his heating/AC costs have gone down significantly (baseboard heat and fuel oil combined). he's very happy with it

[MattHelm]

Originally Posted by Opus4

Our electric use is about to change again, though, because we just installed geothermal heating & cooling (technically geo-exchange, but everyone says geothermal). So, I imagine our yearly electric use will go up, but our gas use will go to near zero (just what is used to run a clothes dryer and a backup generator).

- Andy

Andy,
Did they rip up your yard doing this, or did they use the kind that just makes a slice? Or is this different from that kind that uses tubes in your yard? Just asking.

[Opus4]

Originally Posted by tvmaster2

wow..that's brilliant. are those 100w panels? how many?
I have a friend who runs a B&B who installed a geothermal system a couple of years back and his heating/AC costs have gone down significantly (baseboard heat and fuel oil combined). he's very happy with it

There are 60 230 watt panels.

Fuel oil is more expensive than natural gas, so our savings won't be as large a percent of our gas costs -- geothermal has a bigger savings compared to oil or propane heating. But, our old system was being held together with a rubber band, a paper clip, and something unmentionable, so we just went with the most efficient new system.

Originally Posted by MattHelm

Andy,
Did they rip up your yard doing this, or did they use the kind that just makes a slice? Or is this different from that kind that uses tubes in your yard? Just asking.

They drilled four 240 foot wells for a closed loop system, plus a 6 foot deep trench connecting them all to the house's basement. We're now trying to get grass growing again before winter sets in. At least it sprouted already within a week of grading with top soil + seeding.

- Andy

[KryptoNyte]

So with the installation of the solar system, drilling of the 4 wells and geothermal system, including ongoing maint., what's the total schedule for ROI? What's the typical equipment life cycle? Or perhaps this was more of a noble endeavor?

[tvmaster2]

yikes...that's a lot of panels!