Lorne
Veteran Member
Our local utility company made some kW meters available (just like borrowing a book) through the local library branches.
With my electical bills ranging from a low of $ 70 in March to a high of $ 532 in August (for a 2650 sf house), and with all the talk of CFL bulbs and the like, I thought I'd see if I could save a dollar or two, and help the environment while I was at it.
In the process, I found out something interesting about running my computer.
I've always been one to leave the computer on and never turn it off. Back in the 80's I remember someone saying that turning the computer on and off does more damage than leaving it on (due to the heating and cooling of the PCBs, solder joints, etc). That made sense to me at the time - whether or not it's still true with modern computers and modern manufacturing techniques, I don't know.
Anyway, I got one of these "Kill A Watt EZ" meters. You can enter your cost/kW which is 10.64 cents per kWh (incl all taxes) in my case, and then select the time period (hr/day/week/month/year) that you want to see the cost for.
I checked the cost of running my desktop computer, two flat panel monitors, a cable modem, a router, and a powered USB hub.
Here's what I found:
- With everything turned on and running, the cost fluctuates depending on what you're doing.
- Not using the computer itself, as if you had walked away from it or left it on all night, and with the monitors on but in powersave mode, it's costing me $ 9.38/month.
- With the same equipment turned on but with the monitors turned off (instead of in powersave mode) it's costing me $ 7.12/month.
So much for that powersave mode.
I was actually surprised that running the computer and a couple flat panels costs as much as it does (IE: $ 10 + per month). That doesn't even take into account, the three printers that are always powered on as well.
I'm not going to be saving much - it's pretty clear that it's the air conditioning driving the size of the electrical bills, but essentially, I can reduce my electrical bill by up to $ 2.26 per month if I simply push the power button on the front of the monitors when I'm not using them.
Now I'm off to test what that freezer in the garage is costing me - it very nicely rejects heat to the garage in the winter, but also rejects heat to it in the summer, and the garage has it's own A/C system = not good for energy use.
That freezer may need to go - it's stuck in kind of an endless loop - energy wise.
Am I the only one that leaves their computer on, and is it still better to keep them running rather than turning them off?
With my electical bills ranging from a low of $ 70 in March to a high of $ 532 in August (for a 2650 sf house), and with all the talk of CFL bulbs and the like, I thought I'd see if I could save a dollar or two, and help the environment while I was at it.
In the process, I found out something interesting about running my computer.
I've always been one to leave the computer on and never turn it off. Back in the 80's I remember someone saying that turning the computer on and off does more damage than leaving it on (due to the heating and cooling of the PCBs, solder joints, etc). That made sense to me at the time - whether or not it's still true with modern computers and modern manufacturing techniques, I don't know.
Anyway, I got one of these "Kill A Watt EZ" meters. You can enter your cost/kW which is 10.64 cents per kWh (incl all taxes) in my case, and then select the time period (hr/day/week/month/year) that you want to see the cost for.
I checked the cost of running my desktop computer, two flat panel monitors, a cable modem, a router, and a powered USB hub.
Here's what I found:
- With everything turned on and running, the cost fluctuates depending on what you're doing.
- Not using the computer itself, as if you had walked away from it or left it on all night, and with the monitors on but in powersave mode, it's costing me $ 9.38/month.
- With the same equipment turned on but with the monitors turned off (instead of in powersave mode) it's costing me $ 7.12/month.
So much for that powersave mode.
I was actually surprised that running the computer and a couple flat panels costs as much as it does (IE: $ 10 + per month). That doesn't even take into account, the three printers that are always powered on as well.
I'm not going to be saving much - it's pretty clear that it's the air conditioning driving the size of the electrical bills, but essentially, I can reduce my electrical bill by up to $ 2.26 per month if I simply push the power button on the front of the monitors when I'm not using them.
Now I'm off to test what that freezer in the garage is costing me - it very nicely rejects heat to the garage in the winter, but also rejects heat to it in the summer, and the garage has it's own A/C system = not good for energy use.
That freezer may need to go - it's stuck in kind of an endless loop - energy wise.
Am I the only one that leaves their computer on, and is it still better to keep them running rather than turning them off?