[GeforceGTS]

I was wondering how much folding 24/7 is increasing your power bills in the UK and how much you are paying per unit.

Recently my power bill changed to every 3 months so I have been keeping an eye on the usage, i'm being charged £0.12 per unit and my PC uses 1 unit per hour, when I did the math I was suprised.

So that's around £2.88 per day or £80 a month! Anyone else think this is ridiculous? I already quit SMP to try and save a little but it hasn't helped much, I realy don't know what else I can do to cut down my usage, I already make sure nothing else is left switched on etc.

I remember reading that the lucky americans

who are folding only see around a $15 increase per month from folding on a single rig?

I just can't see how they can charge so much, it's sickening.

 

[lemans81]

How did you figure the price. I mean here we pay per Kw hour, and so you figure how many watts your computer uses then you can figure up how much it costs...so I am not sure what they are using as a measure over there, because I have never heard of electricity being measured in Units.

 

[GeforceGTS]

Yeah, that's the thing, i'm unsure how to work it out correctly or even read the meter

I'm just going by what my parents are saying, they claim they turned off everything while I was sleeping and that my PC used "1 unit" per hour and that we are charged £0.12 per unit, i've argued that it can't be correct and no way can my PC cost £80 a month to run using only around 400w.

Without me knowing an accurate way of measuring how much i'm using i'm going to have to foot the bill though.

I need to get my own place again

 

[quakermaas]

I think 1 unit = 1 KwH

http://www.onlineconversion.com/foru...1075957220.htm

So would it work like this
computer is using 400w per hour ,£0.12 for 1KwH, so 2.5 hours for 12 pence ?

so then that is about £1.20 per day?

 

[-iceblade^]

well i started folding, GPU folding, and my electricity use hasn't risen. i use about 11p an hour, and it has stayed that way. i don't fold 24/7, though, maybe 8 -10 hours on a good day

somehow that must be off...

 

[megamatt]

I got my bill through last month, £688 :S. this was over a 6-7 month period through my full household, i use maybe 80 a week also. i generally have all my electric stuff turned off at the mains unless it's in use. I'm guessing 80 a week just for your pc is pretty steep? :|

 

[GeforceGTS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by megamatt I'm guessing 80 a month just for your pc is pretty steep? :|

Well, I just worked out the power consumption of my PC and calculated it the proper way I think.

My PC uses around 400w

So for a month

720 hours x 0.400kw = 288Kwh

288Kwh x 12p = £34 per month.

Which is a big difference from the £80 per month my parents say it is costing. Either they are reading the meter incorrectly or we are being conned.

 

[lemans81]

You have to remember there are tons of things that draw electricity even when you turn them off. TV's, all the clocks on like microwaves and alrams, generally air conditioning is electricity. I bet most people draw 200W-800W in a 4 bedroom house even with everything off. If you can find and afford one, a kil-a-watt meter will tell you how much you actually use, I had a quad overclocked with an 8800GS overclocked and it drew about 290W folding on everything. So your setup doesn't look like it would draw 400W, I bet your around 350W-375W. Also make sure your turning your lcd off when its folding that can add 40W-75W of power.

 

[GeforceGTS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lemans81 You have to remember there are tons of things that draw electricity even when you turn them off. TV's, all the clocks on like microwaves and alrams, generally air conditioning is electricity. I bet most people draw 200W-800W in a 4 bedroom house even with everything off. If you can find and afford one, a kil-a-watt meter will tell you how much you actually use, I had a quad overclocked with an 8800GS overclocked and it drew about 290W folding on everything. So your setup doesn't look like it would draw 400W, I bet your around 350W-375W. Also make sure your turning your lcd off when its folding that can add 40W-75W of power.

I accounted for all of this

Microwave is always unplugged as is everything else when not in use, no air conditioning here, I don't know anyone in the UK who has air conditioning

Also when I sleep I unplug my Z-5500's and switch off my monitor, which is why I don't believe my PC is costing so much to run.

I'll just have to wait untill the bill comes and see, if it's ridiculously high as my parents expect then i'm going to have to enquire about it because something must be wrong.

 

[lemans81]

Obviously this won't work for you but try to find one like this Kill A Watt

Also the temps get to 100F or 38C here during summer(usually average is around 93F or 33C), and the humidity is in the upper 70% to mid 80% range...so while its possible to go without obviously its not really comfortable.

 

[98uk]

I don't think i've ever been to a house in the UK that has air-con?

Anyway, I very much doubt it's costing you £80/month to run your PC whilst folding. You can get those devices that sit between your PC and plug which measure how much power is used.

 

[orbiter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GeforceGTS I'll just have to wait untill the bill comes and see, if it's ridiculously high as my parents expect then i'm going to have to enquire about it because something must be wrong.

I've worked out that my system prolly uses about £15 a month, It's only used for about 10hrs per day though not 24. To be honest though GeForce I think it's the lecki companies here in the UK, they're rip off merchants just like the gas board and the government. You only have to look at the meter here and you somehow get charged for it

 

[-iceblade^]

true

we pay by toppnig up the electricity weekly, and somehow we STILL get bills from the electric company for how knows what. standing charges i think they're called. it's ridiculous

 

[GeforceGTS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lemans81 Obviously this won't work for you but try to find one like this Kill A Watt

I think i'll order one of those tomorrrow

This one should be fine yeah?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Plug-Power-E...7203679&sr=8-1

Quote:

Originally Posted by alex98uk I don't think i've ever been to a house in the UK that has air-con? Anyway, I very much doubt it's costing you £80/month to run your PC whilst folding. You can get those devices that sit between your PC and plug which measure how much power is used.

I doubt it too, try telling my parents that though

I've tried explaining to them the whole Kwh thing etc but they're just like "Uhh well all we know is that it's 12p per unit and you are using a unit per hour"

Quote:

Originally Posted by orbiter I've worked out that my system prolly uses about £15 a month, It's only used for about 10hrs per day though not 24. To be honest though GeForce I think it's the lecki companies here in the UK, they're rip off merchants just like the gas board and the government. You only have to look at the meter here and you somehow get charged for it

Yep, rip off britian again. It's getting ridiculous here, Nuclear power FTW

Quote:

Originally Posted by -iceblade^ true we pay by toppnig up the electricity weekly, and somehow we STILL get bills from the electric company for how knows what. standing charges i think they're called. it's ridiculous

Before I moved back with my parents I used to pay that way too and it never cost as much as it apparently does now, although prices have doubled since then. lol, I remember having like 12p left on the meter and no money to top it up so I had the choice of cooking, lights or the PC. You can guess what I choose

 

[StarryNite]

Quote:

Originally Posted by alex98uk I don't think i've ever been to a house in the UK that has air-con?

Even general use of central heating didn't come to Brits until well into the 60s. It was an arguable point even.

Try that in the South, and folks will be dropping dead like flies. Heat shelters aren't just for emergencies.

But to the OP, consider folding like going out to a nice a meal a month. It's not terribly expensive if thought in that manner (and it's cheaper than getting a new game each month, too!).

 

[lemans81]

If thats your plug socket that looks very similar to the kill a watt, I can't imagine why it wouldn't work.

 

[Greg2008uk]

There is this calculator for power use.

Your calculation is correct for your PSU.

I just did my system, If that is right I will have to stop folding all together

!

 

[Tufelhunden]

Unless your parents turned off all the other fuses in the house the test it not accurate. You may wish to mention that.

 

[orbiter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Greg2008uk There is this calculator for power use. Your calculation is correct for your PSU. I just did my system, If that is right I will have to stop folding all together !

Thanks for that calculator link Greg2008, really useful. And It helps confirm what I'd calculated about my system. I worked out that.. If at full load (550W) for 10 hrs per day (In the unlikely event that I ever used that) My system would use around £15 per month of electicity. I'd only factored in about 10 pence per kWh though not 12p. I guess I'll have to up my contribution a tad towards the bill now

rep+

Orb

 

[gonX]

12p per kWh is insanely inexpensive. We pay around 24p (with current rates, actually 2.0035 DKK) per kWh, on a lucky day, here in the Copenhagen area. So don't run around crying about electricity bills, please