The Energon Pub

[Screambug]

You probably remember that I was shopping for a computer at the time. Now I got a beautiful one for my birthday!

But I worry about the electric bill. So if a computer is turned on all day, will it suck up alot of electricity?

(Sounds pretty stupid, heh. )

[tequila stu]

http://www.esru.strath.ac.uk/EandE/Web_sites/01-02/RE_info/hec.htm

essentially

The amount of energy a specific appliance consumes can be illustrated in the following formula:

Wattage x Hours Used Per Day
1000

= (1 kilowatt (kW) = 1,000 Watts)
= Daily Kilowatt-hour (kWh) consumption

Multiply this by the number of days you use the appliance during the year for the annual consumption.

You can then calculate the annual cost to run an appliance by multiplying the number of kWh per year used by your electricity suppliers standard electricity charge per kWh consumed, typically around 6.8p/kWh

example
2. Check how much electricity your personal computer and monitor use

Personal Computer and Monitor (220+150)
= 370 Watts x 4 hours/day x 365 days/year
1000
= 540 kWh x 6.8 p / kWh
= £36.73 / year

adjust to suit your needs and you should find out.

[SnapTrap]

I turn my computers off every night. Saves on wear and tear and on electricity.

[TheMuffin]

No more than a TV and video game system. You might see a $5 - $10 increase. I have a 350 watt PSU in my rig and it barely made a difference in the bill.

[muswp1]

I think it all depends on what the computer is doing. If it spends a lot of time idling or running programs that don't push the computer hard, it's not going to be drawing much power. If it's running hard most of the day, like a server, then it will draw significantly more power.