[mythtv-users] Re: Energy Usage of MythBoxes

[Kelly Grigg]

Living in New Orleans.....when it gets hot and humid...in another 
month...

My computers I have on in the house are the LAST of my concern..
:-)

When you have to turn on the A/C in April...and don't get to turn it 
off till late November...I'm not really to concerned about the power 
consumption of my computers and all running 24/7.

Although I do tend to run most boxes headless...and turn off the 
monitors when not in use.

I figure if you've got the extra funds to put a computer together 
dedicated to MythTv....you shouldn't really be concerned about a little 
extra on the power bill...

:-)

Kinda like driving a Porsche, and worry about how much gas costs...

K

On Mar 20, 2005, at 2:57 PM, John Andersen wrote:

> On Sunday 20 March 2005 09:24, Rich Hall wrote:
>> William wrote:
>>> Your typical 19 inch CRT monitor draws about 500 watts. They draw 
>>> close to
>>> 1000 watts at startup (mostly due to filiment startup current and the
>>> degausing coil). Your newer lcd displays draw less than 150 watts so 
>>> there
>>> is a huge savings energy wise. BTW your typical television draws 
>>> about the
>>> same current as the same size crt monitor. Function wise they are 
>>> nearly
>>> identical so you would expect the currents to be about the same too.
>>
>> Where did you get those numbers from??? I have been in the repair 
>> business
>> for 40+ yrs and have measured the power consumption of a lot of 
>> equipment..
>> Really simple to do.. measure the current and multiply it by the 
>> supply
>> voltage = power. A typical 17-19" monito will consume between 100-140
>> watts.. max.. the surge current does not matter in the grand scheme of
>> things..
>
> I agree with Rich here.  I use amprobe equipment
>   http://omnicontrols.com/lists/amprobere.html
> to measure draw on equipment (because we have
> to do these tests on equipment we manufacture), especially
> the high density machines (lots of drives, built in raid arrays etc).
>
> I was initially surprised at how little they draw compared
> to the rating printed on the power supplys.  (Deeper reading
> into the power supply specs would often reveal that they could
> not sustain their claimed rating for very long).
>
> We even measure the power save mode on monitors to
> see if there was any real saving.  Contrary to our suspicions
> (we tend to be skeptical) we found that monitors really
> do save a lot of power in powersave mode - not standby mode.
> Newer ones save much more than older ones.
>
> Letting a monitor go to power save kills off just most of the
> load, and some models drop below 10 watts, (Christmas tree
> bulb country).
>
> My personal opinion (no research) is that the wear and tear
> of power on/off does more damage to the equipment than
> letting it take care of itself and run 24/7.
>
> Fans may not start if cold, but once started they very
> seldom stop.  Will it start again when your myth box
> wakes up to record your show after it has been
> off for 24 hours?
>
> -- 
> ______Jsa_________
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