Electricity Problem

[MesZa]

I've had my PC for a couple of months now, but my latest electricity bill was through the rough. I think its from downloading so many games over so long (my Internet is pretty garbage). Does anyone know a way to either make the Computer's connection better or reduce the amount of electricity used?

 

Thx

[Blue4130]

3 minutes ago, MesZa said:

I've had my PC for a couple of months now, but my latest electricity bill was through the rough. I think its from downloading so many games over so long (my Internet is pretty garbage). Does anyone know a way to either make the Computer's connection better or reduce the amount of electricity used?

 

Thx

Uhhh using the internet doesn't really use that much more electricity. Maybe a few watts. Having these computer on and running uses the electricity. When you aren't actively using it, either put it to sleep or turn it off. 

[emosun]

what was the actual increase over the previous month and is it linear with the wattage the machine uses?

[dalekphalm]

38 minutes ago, MesZa said:

I've had my PC for a couple of months now, but my latest electricity bill was through the rough. I think its from downloading so many games over so long (my Internet is pretty garbage). Does anyone know a way to either make the Computer's connection better or reduce the amount of electricity used?

 

Thx

How much electricity does your computer actually draw? (Not just the PSU max wattage)

 

How much extra electricity was used on your bill, compared to normal?

 

What is your electrical rate (usually "local currency" per kWh - feel free to convert the currency into USD or whatever if you want)

[whm1974]

Unless you are running a Mining or Beowulf Cluster, merely using one Computer would be hust a blip on the power bill.

[LWM723]

Well, If it's using 500 wats x 24hrs thats 12 kw\h per day x 30 days = 360 kw\h x .10 cents per kw\h = $36 a month. How much power is tour pc using?

[dizmo]

6 minutes ago, LWM723 said:

Well, If it's using 500 wats x 24hrs thats 12 kw\h per day x 30 days = 360 kw\h x .10 cents per kw\h = $36 a month. How much power is tour pc using?

A PC very rarely uses 500 watts of power.

[dilpickle]

55 minutes ago, Caroline said:

How much of an increase did you notice? I leave mine on for days to download games and haven't noticed any increase in my bill. It took me 2 months to dl Cyberpunk 2077 so I'm used to it, I started the Doom Eternal + DLCs download about a week ago and it's only at 8% so it's gonna take a looooong long time to complete *sigh*

 

Unless you're mining cryptos you shouldn't notice a big increase in your bill.

Dialup? Damn dude just get a console and buy discs.

[whm1974]

I would be more concerned about Heat your PC putting out instead.

[danalog]

36 minutes ago, dilpickle said:

Dialup? Damn dude just get a console and buy discs.

"Hey bro wanna play a game?"
"Sure lemme load it up on the 56k!"

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeooooiiiiaoiaeoooooooaioaiaaaooooooooiiieeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

[Quackers101]

you could have other PC issues, also for modern components. there has been some videos on idle wattage and you don't use much for downloading unless you just keep the system active with BS background tasks idling.

[Mihle]

It's more likely that your electricity price have just gotten higher, and if you are in Europe, that have happened.

 

Or it has gotten colder/your home is leaky to the cold. In the northern hemisphere, heating is the number 1 energy use by a good margin.

 

If you are in a colder country, most of what a computer use will be put out as heat again like what electric heating cable or panel ovens do. That means the other heating work less(if they are controlled by temperature), and the total use becomes almost the same. (This is if all other conditions with heating is the same)

[Alcarin]

5 hours ago, Caroline said:

How much of an increase did you notice? I leave mine on for days to download games and haven't noticed any increase in my bill. It took me 2 months to dl Cyberpunk 2077 so I'm used to it, I started the Doom Eternal + DLCs download about a week ago and it's only at 8% so it's gonna take a looooong long time to complete *sigh*

That's insane. The slowest connection I've ever been on was 512Kbps DSL when I was a kid, in fact I remember waiting like 2 days for Mass Effect 1 to download. Nowadays I have gigabit fiber.

 

But 2 months for Cyberpunk? Jesus. Doom Eternal's gonna be even longer XD.  

[HQuan]

No, for example 800W PSU does not consume 800W on your outlet, 800W is the maximum power the PSU can provide, it's not the power gunna drawing from the outlet.

[wanderingfool2]

7 hours ago, MesZa said:

I've had my PC for a couple of months now, but my latest electricity bill was through the rough. I think its from downloading so many games over so long (my Internet is pretty garbage). Does anyone know a way to either make the Computer's connection better or reduce the amount of electricity used?

 

Thx

Internet connections really don't do much in terms of electricity usage...unless if it requires you to keep your computer on 24/7 to download things...and even then computers shouldn't be consuming too much (if all it's doing is downloading)

 

What is the difference in the kwh usage?  It should say it on your electricity bill. [Potentially increased kwh pricing?]

 

A few things to note, unless you are using your computer for mining, have a virus or you have like a website open that is secretly mining your computer will utilize a smaller amount of power.  My system runs at like 50w idle (so if it were idling all month it would be $6 in electricity, where I live).

 

Larger electricity usages are as follows though:

HD digital box for cable [7.2kwh to 8.8kwh a month ~$1 at idle]

TV's [58 watts, or if left on 8 hours a day, 14kwh a month ~$1.5]

Old school lights (not LED) [45-60w per bulb, if lights are left on it can add up quite quickly]

Heating if you use electrical can make a huge difference.

If you use electrical heating for hot water then if you have a leak or are taking longer showers that could be a thing.

 

Other less common things, but still potentially noteworthy (if yours has spike a crazy crazy amount and you can't justify it)...neighbours plugging into outside outlets and doing things like car charging.

[Blue4130]

44 minutes ago, wanderingfool2 said:

]

Old school lights (not LED) [45-60w per bulb, if lights are left on it can add up quite quickly]

This! If you are old enough to be paying your own power bills, you likely are old enough to remember bulbs from pre-led days. 

 

My pc for example, when gaming, uses about the same as 3x 100w bulbs. My first apartment had probably that many in the living room alone. 

[wanderingfool2]

5 minutes ago, Blue4130 said:

This! If you are old enough to be paying your own power bills, you likely are old enough to remember bulbs from pre-led days. 

 

My pc for example, when gaming, uses about the same as 3x 100w bulbs. My first apartment had probably that many in the living room alone. 

I literally have a lighting fixture that consumes 1.1kwh an hour.  The cost of replacement though doesn't really justify going green though [as it requires a ladder, and not sure it can support the additional weight of that many LED bulbs]

[LogicalDrm]

Average gaming PC uses maybe 300-350W under heavy load. Something like 100-200W while doing lighter tasks such as downloading something. Though worth noting that running PC 247 vs 8-10h does add up.

 

I wouldn't put your increased bill on PC directly. Not unless you can rule out the other, more likely, suspects. Like increased prices, need of heating/AC, cooking at home (your stove uses much more electricity than almost anything else). 

[Dedayog]

14 hours ago, Caroline said:

How much of an increase did you notice? I leave mine on for days to download games and haven't noticed any increase in my bill. It took me 2 months to dl Cyberpunk 2077 so I'm used to it, I started the Doom Eternal + DLCs download about a week ago and it's only at 8% so it's gonna take a looooong long time to complete *sigh*

 

Unless you're mining cryptos you shouldn't notice a big increase in your bill.

I just cried for you

 

Are you on dialup?  

[MesZa]

On 11/30/2021 at 1:38 AM, Blue4130 said:

Uhhh using the internet doesn't really use that much more electricity. Maybe a few watts. Having these computer on and running uses the electricity. When you aren't actively using it, either put it to sleep or turn it off. 

Thats the thing, whenever its not being used, it always gets shut down

 

On 11/30/2021 at 2:01 AM, emosun said:

what was the actual increase over the previous month and is it linear with the wattage the machine uses?

Don't know exactly what the increase was, because my dad just came in and said the electricity bill was "through the roof'. The PSU is 550W 80+ Bronze

 

On 11/30/2021 at 2:47 AM, Caroline said:

How much of an increase did you notice? I leave mine on for days to download games and haven't noticed any increase in my bill. It took me 2 months to dl Cyberpunk 2077 so I'm used to it, I started the Doom Eternal + DLCs download about a week ago and it's only at 8% so it's gonna take a looooong long time to complete *sigh*

 

Unless you're mining cryptos you shouldn't notice a big increase in your bill.

Not too sure what the increase as because my dad just told me the bill was through the roof, but i think it might have been the thing as you, I would leave my PC on for a couple of hours to download some stuff, but otherwise it gets shut down when its not being used

[Blue4130]

13 minutes ago, MesZa said:

Don't know exactly what the increase was, because my dad just came in and said the electricity bill was "through the roof'. The PSU is 550W 80+ Bronze

I'd ask him what through the roof means, because a single pc will not drastically raise the electric bill, even when under load. 

 

Here are a couple examples. One is 8 hours per day and the other is 24hours. This calculation is a pc constantly drawing 300w. That would be a 5600x and a 2080ti under full load. 

 

[Heliian]

15 hours ago, wanderingfool2 said:

I literally have a lighting fixture that consumes 1.1kwh an hour.  The cost of replacement though doesn't really justify going green though [as it requires a ladder, and not sure it can support the additional weight of that many LED bulbs]

LOL, the weight is negligible between incandescents and LEDs.  You need an electrician. 

[Middcore]

1 hour ago, MesZa said:

Don't know exactly what the increase was, because my dad just came in and said the electricity bill was "through the roof'. The PSU is 550W 80+ Bronze

 

And it probably has nothing to do with your PC, but this is a very common thing for boomers to believe. My condolences. 

[Quackers101]

some eletricity deals are shady though, sometimes they change price when there is higher demand like in winter or use a different source that is more costly.

Or like with phone subscriptions has been before, after x amount they might charge more.

[Heliian]

How about your monitor? 

TV? 

Speakers? 

RGB bedframe? 

Dehumidifier? 

Humidifier? 

Charging cubes? 

 

Anything that's plugged in is drawing power continuously and it all adds up.  If you're spending more time in your room with all the tech and whatnot then your usage goes up. 

 

Your dad really just wants you to get a job and help with the house.