PC Power usage?

[Dukat]

Hey all

Just a quick question, I'm looking at finding out how much my PC costs in electicity, I've had a look on the net, several google searches but I've found nothing conclusive.

I have a 17" TFT monitor, standard PC speakers, I dont really know what PSU it is, I've looked on it but the only thing I can see that looks like wattage says 150w, which doesnt sound right, whatever it is it serves a 2.8ghz p4 CPU, I have the default two fans, nothing in the way of flashy extras.

Is there anywhere that I can find out how much electricity my PC will use? only need an approximate figure in a way, only accurate to within £50+/-.

I use the thing alot atm - its on atleast 12 hours a day, however I do not leave it on overnight.

any help much appreciated

 

[Chilly]

it all varies wildly. But...as a really, really nasty horrible rough guide assume when its on it's drawing maybe 250-300w average over time. You'll have to see your bill for how much a kwh costs you to do the maths.

 

[leggy]

Hey all

Just a quick question, I'm looking at finding out how much my PC costs in electicity, I've had a look on the net, several google searches but I've found nothing conclusive.

I have a 17" TFT monitor, standard PC speakers, I dont really know what PSU it is, I've looked on it but the only thing I can see that looks like wattage says 150w, which doesnt sound right, whatever it is it serves a 2.8ghz p4 CPU, I have the default two fans, nothing in the way of flashy extras.

Is there anywhere that I can find out how much electricity my PC will use? only need an approximate figure in a way, only accurate to within £50+/-.

I use the thing alot atm - its on atleast 12 hours a day, however I do not leave it on overnight.

any help much appreciated

This is quite an open question. To get an accurate result you would need an ammeter + data storage device. But obviously that would be taking it a bit too far.

The current drawn by the pc will vary wildly during the 12 hours that you mention. There is no point in assuming that your PSU is drawing 400W continously. To be honest it will rarely be running at capacity.

The average price per KWH in UK is approximately 9p.

Assuming that you are drawing an average of 200W (probably way too high), this will cost:

0.2KW * £0.09 = £0.018 (per hour)

£0.018 * 12 = £0.216 (per day, assuming it's running for no more than 12 hours in a day)

£0.216 * 365(days) = £78.84 per year.

Now obviously I have made some really harsh assumptions. The price per KWh will vary during the day and it also depends what price plan you are on (10p is probably closer). I also doubt that you will be using an average of 200W over a 12 hour period but you get the idea.

 

[leggy]

Just found this:

http://www.ukpower.co.uk/running-costs-elec.asp

Quite handy and assumes 10p per KWh but you can change it.

 

[Dukat]

Thanks alot, that's answered the question for me cheers!

 

[Tom]

Buy one of these:

http://www.pat-training.co.uk/230V_electricity_meter.htm

If you really want to know. But basically, Leggy is exactly right - however, monitors tend to have a reasonably stable current draw. Its a very good idea to set up power saving on your monitor, although the downside is that the more often a monitor is turned on/off, the more likely the power supply is likely to die! This however isn't something you really need to worry about.


One big saving you can make is if you have a central heating system. If the timer/thermostat you have is not computer controlled, change it now. Basically what I mean is that you want a programmable timer that also has programmable air temperature levels. That way, the heating only comes on when the air temperature is below the level indicated on the timer/thermostat. Now how is this relevant to your computer? Well the electricity consumed by your computer all ends up as heat. Every last watt. That heat is released into your household. If the central heating is controlled by a programmable timer/thermostat, the heat from the computer will heat up the air, which means that your central heating is on for less time. Which costs you less money. Basically, you're using your computer to help heat up your house.

Obviously you don't want 30 computers instead of radiators, but it does make a difference.

If you have a wall-mounted thermostat in your house, then you can install one of these timers. They're just a very simple switch as far as the boiler is concerned:

This is what I use - it costs about £25, is piss easy to install, and will almost certainly lower your heating bills.