# Your Power Bill



## sleepy hollow (Aug 29, 2015)

Let's talk energy consumption and the monthly power bill. I assume that plenty of the folks around here got a big DAW running for I-dunno-how-many hours per day. Some might not even power down their machine(s) for days.

My standard working setup isn't that demanding, but I've been thinking about using a laptop for sketching; the big DAW only gets powered up, when I really need it - that's the plan. Solar panels might of interest for me in the future, but aren't an option right now.

So, what's your take on this? Power bill is giving you headaches? Or do you just pay and move on?


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## jacobfatoorechi (Aug 29, 2015)

Just doing back of the napkin math here...

Google tells me the average desktop (tower+LCD) uses between 100-300 watts. Let's use the high end for this example since we're talking high end machines.

Let's say you leave it on 24/7 the whole year. That's 365(days)*24(hours)*300(watts). That gives us 2,628,000 watt hours per year. Now we calculate the power bill in kilowatt hours, so divide by 1000 to get a total of 2,680 kilowatt hours.

The national average is $0.12 per kilowatt hour which would mean $315.36 per year (about $26 per month).

The average kilowatt hour in Los Angeles is ~$0.21 bringing out yearly total to $562.80 and monthly $46.90

All that doesn't count the likelihood that your workstation goes into a "sleep" or "hibernation" mode.

That's definitely not an insignificant amount to pay, but it's also right about that range of the "for the price of a restaurant meal" logic.


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## proxima (Aug 29, 2015)

Your computer is likely a drop in the bucket of your overall energy use. Your AC or heat, water heater, clothes dryer, etc are far more important. 

If you're concerned about power conservation, get yourself a http://www.amazon.com/P3-P4400-Electricity-Usage-Monitor/dp/B00009MDBU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1440878239&sr=8-1&keywords=kill+a+watt&pebp=1440878241871&perid=1QT4ZZE7TDAFBBJ5PQCG (Kill-a-Watt). Try your desktop under load and while idling. Try your other appliances. Take your energy bill and figure out the price per marginal kilowatt (probably something in the $0.10-0.25 range if you're in the U.S.), then decide if the inconvenience or sacrifices are worth it.


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## RiffWraith (Aug 29, 2015)

I got this thigamajig from my power co. You plug it into the wall, and you plug your device into it, and it tell you how much the cost is per hour. Pretty cool, actually. One computer in my house costs 3 cents every two hours. Not including the monitor of course, which I stupidly forgot to do before I gave it back. :/


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## synthpunk (Aug 29, 2015)

When I retired my Mac Pro tower and went to a much more power efficient Vader Helmet, our electric bill went down about $30 a mo. YMMV


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## sleepy hollow (Aug 29, 2015)

I wasn't looking for advice or help,maybe I should have stated that in my post. Anyway, those tips are still helpful for other people, I guess! Just wanted to start a discussion to see what other people do.



jacobfatoorechi said:


> The national average is $0.12 per kilowatt hour


That's pretty low, in Germany you pay almost three times as much.



proxima said:


> Your AC or heat, water heater, clothes dryer, etc are far more important.


Uncommon in Germany nowadays to have all these powered with electricity. No AC (not needed), heat and water heater are gas or oil-powered. More and more solar panels on the roofs, more and more people use wood pellet heating (extremely efficient) and maybe some good old firewood for additional heat.


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## sleepy hollow (Aug 29, 2015)

RiffWraith said:


> You plug it into the wall, and you plug your device into it, and it tell you how much the cost is per hour. Pretty cool, actually.


Careful with those! The lower the power consumption of the device you want to measure, the less precise are those thingamajigs (I learned a new word today). Can't explain that properly in English, maybe someone else will say why it is that way (I need to learn more English words). If your power co gave it to you, it might have been a decent unit, but the more affordable ones aren't really helpful.


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## Rctec (Aug 29, 2015)

We run our computers, mixing desks, outboard gear all the time. Over 300 servers. Every room with 5.1 power-amps. Stupid amounts of air-conditioning. We have some solar-power, but it was (when we wanted to do it) really tricky to get planning permission. We'll try again....In Germany, 51% of all power is now solar generated and therefore owned by the individual homeowners. The downside is, the power companies make less money and jack the prices up!
... I was going to tell you what our bill here was, but than just felt too horrified...but I could keep a small country going. Come to think of it - I keep a small country going


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## dgburns (Aug 29, 2015)

well not sure I have much to add after that last post.yikes ...
But I'll throw my very small two cents into the pile. 

Speaking to my one room only(of a small facility of five)I have gotten into the habit of turning it off when I leave.I know there's a real debate with audio gear about having it on all the time vs turning it off(caps left on wear out sooner versus power cycling is hard on gear for the stress it causes)
I just figure that nothing can go bad if it's off,rather then go to sleep or whatever.The backups don't happen as automatically as they should,but I'm sleeping better.
just the other day,one of my rear speakers went down,pretty sure it's a cap cause of the noise.Capacitors go bad after a while,left on they dry out.I know I probably should leave the gear on however.I just feel better turning it all off.
my morning routine is a strange Groundhog Day kinda thing with the old "turn the gear on" dance that I do.I swear I get déjà vue bad during the routine,and then get a tea...
Not worried about the cost so much .


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## Muresan (Aug 30, 2015)

Don't mean to hijack the thread, but it's something I often wondered...besides the power consumption issue, would leaving the powered speakers constantly on be detrimental to the longevity or overall well being of the speakers/amps?


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## chillbot (Aug 30, 2015)

8 computers and roughly 40-50 external synths and rackmount gear and mixers, I leave on 24/7. I'll shut them down once a year if we go on vacation for 7-10 days, if it's a 3-4 day trip I leave them on. I might stop shutting them down ever, all my problems occur when I try to turn them back on.

When my studio was in Burbank it was $800/month. I moved to Glendale, CA, and it was $1,600/month, I got solar and it dropped to $800/month plus $50/month for solar. I moved to La Canada Flintridge and it was $1,200/month, I got solar and it's now around $600/month plus $100/month for solar.

I have no idea why every person on LA doesn't get solar panels. Solar City is a top-notch company I highly recommend. We have them on our house as well.


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## sleepy hollow (Sep 2, 2015)

Rctec said:


> We run our computers, mixing desks, outboard gear all the time.


I don't know much about your facility or the way you and all the people there work, but I do remember that interview... you've been talking about your time in London and that electricity meter. Now I really want to believe that your place in LA has a coin-operated electricity meter in the hallway. Everyone's running around with the pockets full of coins!

"Hey, have you seen Hans? I need a nickel for my solo!"


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## SterlingArcher (Sep 2, 2015)

Rctec said:


> We run our computers, mixing desks, outboard gear all the time. Over 300 servers. Every room with 5.1 power-amps. Stupid amounts of air-conditioning. We have some solar-power, but it was (when we wanted to do it) really tricky to get planning permission. We'll try again....In Germany, 51% of all power is now solar generated and therefore owned by the individual homeowners. The downside is, the power companies make less money and jack the prices up!
> ... I was going to tell you what our bill here was, but than just felt too horrified...but I could keep a small country going. Come to think of it - I keep a small country going



Would be interested to hear the national anthem.


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