How much electricity does my always-on computer use?

Not much

http://michaelbluejay.com/electricity/computers.html

This is something I have wondered about as well. I'm of the opinion that the computer should be left on all the time, my better half disagrees. Now I have some ammo for my argument. Thanks 2Packs.

$5.20 a year! Coolness.

what exactly is electricity?

Using the 100 watts, .10 cent kilowatt hour figures my computer costs me about a quarter a day to run, running 24/7.

Or $87.00 per year.

CRT monitors use over twice the power of a LCD, but even then I'd guess it would be in the 100.00 per year range.

Leaving it on 24/7 what are the chances it could cause an electrical fire?

I always wonder about that when I go to bed and leave the computer on.

most desktop pc's have between a 300 and 500 watt powersupply

quoted from the site I linked to earlier

"With most devices you can look at the label to see how much energy they use, but that doesn't work so well with computers because the label gives the theoretical maximum, not the typical amount used. A computer whose label says 300 watts might only use about 60 watts when it's actually running, and only 90 even in peak times with serious number-crunching and all the drives spinning."

And I'd say the chances of a computer causing a fire are about the same as any other electric appliance that is left on all night....tv, radio, christmas lights...etc.


Please God dont let Chai Tea's computer catch on fire tonight, I'll never forgive myself. :wink:

Christmas lights! Yikes!

I was raised to believe if you left the room when the christmas lights were on, the house would immediately go up in flames.


oh dear, oh dear <wringing hands>

do you think the mouse could send off sparks?

i guess it's just a habit, but we turn the lights out when we are not in a room, turn the computer off when not in use, turn down the furnace at night ... we also still pick up pennies that others are leaving behind ... gives you an idea about our lifestyles
but we also don't hesitate to blow a bundle on something we really want ... like a nice vacation. hbg