3 ms·

Don't forget the electricity cost come with home server. A quick math will show that it's not insignificant

SECProto 2y ago
> Don't forget the electricity cost come with home server. A quick math will show that it's not insignificant If you run it 24/7 on a dedicated desktop with decent idle (i.e. no high power video card, low power CPU), it likely uses ~ 50W average. That gives an estimate of 0.05kW24hr30 = 36kWh, which would be in the range of $12/month at current australian electricity prices. If you have bad idle power usage (or somehow mostly active not idle), maybe you'd be looking at twice that. But for OP who was spending $xxx/month on subscriptions, it's a pretty negligible cost. If you really want to save this too, raspPi can do a lot of home server needs nowadays
- ninjinxo 2y ago
  An N100 minipc or second-hand Dell Optiplex doesn't cost too much more than a rasp-Pi ($100-200), has a lot more power, and will only pull about 10W idle. My optiplex shows as 8.191 kwh last month -> 11w average.
  - SECProto 2y ago
    yep yep n100s are great. I just use my gaming desktop as server, uses more money in power but it'd be on for hours a day anyway and i already own it, so i'm not concerned.
  - morsch 2y ago
    Is 10W idle the lowest one can reasonably get a small home server? As a comparison, that's about as much as my fridge draws on average. Also, a mechanism to maximize the time spent at idle would be useful. Basically all the optimisations done for phones.
    - kassner 2y ago
      The Mac Mini M4 can draw as little as 3W during video playback via HDMI, but all your energy savings will be offset by the price of storage. There are plenty of old laptops that would be a great replacement, mine draws 8W at idle with 2x2TB SSDs: https://www.kassner.com.br/en/2023/05/16/reusing-old-hardware/ https://www.kassner.com.br/en/2023/05/16/reusing-old-hardwar... I’m interested in the next generation: arm64 machines with 2xM.2 slots could do wonders as an idler.
- bigfatkitten 2y ago
  Unless you've got a decent amount of rooftop solar. I haven't paid an electricity bill in four years.
- mrheosuper 2y ago
  Those HDD will quickly add to total power consumptions OP was trying to replace streaming services, so he gonna need storage. Assuimg he had 3 hdd for raid 5, that is another 15*3 = 45w
  - SECProto 2y ago
    Looking at a WD spec sheet, it's more like 6-7W during read/write, and 3-4W during idle (1W sleep). Assume your use spread however you want, but that would be a max average of 5W usage per drive, so another 5-20W depending on your storage needs.
Semaphor 2y ago
Dunno, my N100 with 1 SSD and 1 nVME (which hosts over 15 services including jellyfin) is probably not really relevant compared to my desktop PC. ~10W vs 180-350W depending on what I’m doing.
anthropodie 2y ago
Run it on Raspberry Pi. It brings down electric consumption significantly.
- myaccountonhn 2y ago
  Or a cluster if old phones with postmarketos
01100011 2y ago
And while it heats your home in the winter, it also puts more strain on your A/C in the summer. There are also noise and light pollution issues if it's near a bedroom.

> Don't forget the electricity cost come with home server. A quick math will show that it's not insignificant If you run it 24/7 on a dedicated desktop with decent idle (i.e. no high power video card, low power CPU), it likely uses ~ 50W average. That gives an estimate of 0.05kW24hr30 = 36kWh, which would be in the range of $12/month at current australian electricity prices. If you have bad idle power usage (or somehow mostly active not idle), maybe you'd be looking at twice that. But for OP who was spending $xxx/month on subscriptions, it's a pretty negligible cost. If you really want to save this too, raspPi can do a lot of home server needs nowadays

ninjinxo 2y ago
An N100 minipc or second-hand Dell Optiplex doesn't cost too much more than a rasp-Pi ($100-200), has a lot more power, and will only pull about 10W idle. My optiplex shows as 8.191 kwh last month -> 11w average.
- SECProto 2y ago
  yep yep n100s are great. I just use my gaming desktop as server, uses more money in power but it'd be on for hours a day anyway and i already own it, so i'm not concerned.
- morsch 2y ago
  Is 10W idle the lowest one can reasonably get a small home server? As a comparison, that's about as much as my fridge draws on average. Also, a mechanism to maximize the time spent at idle would be useful. Basically all the optimisations done for phones.
  - kassner 2y ago
    The Mac Mini M4 can draw as little as 3W during video playback via HDMI, but all your energy savings will be offset by the price of storage. There are plenty of old laptops that would be a great replacement, mine draws 8W at idle with 2x2TB SSDs: https://www.kassner.com.br/en/2023/05/16/reusing-old-hardware/ https://www.kassner.com.br/en/2023/05/16/reusing-old-hardwar... I’m interested in the next generation: arm64 machines with 2xM.2 slots could do wonders as an idler.
bigfatkitten 2y ago
Unless you've got a decent amount of rooftop solar. I haven't paid an electricity bill in four years.
mrheosuper 2y ago
Those HDD will quickly add to total power consumptions OP was trying to replace streaming services, so he gonna need storage. Assuimg he had 3 hdd for raid 5, that is another 15*3 = 45w
- SECProto 2y ago
  Looking at a WD spec sheet, it's more like 6-7W during read/write, and 3-4W during idle (1W sleep). Assume your use spread however you want, but that would be a max average of 5W usage per drive, so another 5-20W depending on your storage needs.

Semaphor 2y ago

Dunno, my N100 with 1 SSD and 1 nVME (which hosts over 15 services including jellyfin) is probably not really relevant compared to my desktop PC. ~10W vs 180-350W depending on what I’m doing.

anthropodie 2y ago

Run it on Raspberry Pi. It brings down electric consumption significantly.

myaccountonhn 2y ago
Or a cluster if old phones with postmarketos

01100011 2y ago

And while it heats your home in the winter, it also puts more strain on your A/C in the summer. There are also noise and light pollution issues if it's near a bedroom.