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For what it's worth, your figures for the power draw of the WD20EARs seem to be too low -- Storage Review% measures R/W 6.5W-7.1W, idle 6.3W (odd) -- while the

by morsch 15y ago

For what it's worth, your figures for the power draw of the WD20EARs seem to be too low -- Storage Review% measures R/W 6.5W-7.1W, idle 6.3W (odd) -- while the 2.5in drive figures are about right, but maybe a bit on the high side. And your rule of thumb for energy prices doesn't work in Germany (and possibly other countries), where 1W of electricity for one year will go for about USD 2.50, if not more. % http://www.storagereview.com/western_digital_caviar_green_2tb_review_wd20ears http://www.storagereview.com/western_digital_caviar_green_2t...

jws 15y ago
The numbers I used are from WD's spec sheet. The Storage Review discrepancy is too large to easily explain. Either something is wrong with that test, or WD has posted fictitious numbers. The $1/year/watt rule is for the United States with a $0.12/kwHr cost. Even in the US the cost varies wildly, but just getting people within one order a magnitude on their electricity reasoning is worthwhile. I had no idea German electric rates were so high, but it does help explain why large solar power projects are feasible there despite the less than exciting insolation.
- morsch 15y ago
  I agree that the discrepancy is unusually high. The idle power consumption for other drives reviewed by them is lower and more in line with expectations. Everything is more expensive in Germany, energy in particular. A rather high VAT (19%) in addition to taxes specific to energy, including gasoline and eletricity, cause this. Part of this is due to a conscious political decision to encourage energy conservation and investment into renewable energy; in fact, of the 0.2 EUR/kWh, about 0.03 EUR are a flat tax/allocation towards renewable energy. This has spurred photovoltaics, but particularly wind energy, which in 2010 accounted for 6.2% of the total electricity.
- alexchamberlain 15y ago
  UK residents pay at least $2.80 per Watt per year according to my quick Google calculations. On a different note, my last litre of petrol cost $2.12 (£1.33) - that's $8/gallon.

by morsch 15y ago

jws 15y ago

The numbers I used are from WD's spec sheet. The Storage Review discrepancy is too large to easily explain. Either something is wrong with that test, or WD has posted fictitious numbers. The $1/year/watt rule is for the United States with a $0.12/kwHr cost. Even in the US the cost varies wildly, but just getting people within one order a magnitude on their electricity reasoning is worthwhile. I had no idea German electric rates were so high, but it does help explain why large solar power projects are feasible there despite the less than exciting insolation.

morsch 15y ago
I agree that the discrepancy is unusually high. The idle power consumption for other drives reviewed by them is lower and more in line with expectations. Everything is more expensive in Germany, energy in particular. A rather high VAT (19%) in addition to taxes specific to energy, including gasoline and eletricity, cause this. Part of this is due to a conscious political decision to encourage energy conservation and investment into renewable energy; in fact, of the 0.2 EUR/kWh, about 0.03 EUR are a flat tax/allocation towards renewable energy. This has spurred photovoltaics, but particularly wind energy, which in 2010 accounted for 6.2% of the total electricity.
alexchamberlain 15y ago
UK residents pay at least $2.80 per Watt per year according to my quick Google calculations. On a different note, my last litre of petrol cost $2.12 (£1.33) - that's $8/gallon.