[SOLVED] How much electricity bill would having 27 inch iMac running 24/7?

[freet]

Running about 10 hours a day.

 

[Ijack]

How long is a piece of string?

It all depends upon what it is doing and how much electricity costs in your part of the world. You can easily find the technical specifications for the iMac, including min/max power consumption, and work it out for yourself.

 

[freet]

How much average in the US? Running 16 hours a day, sleeping 8 hours.

 

[Ijack]

I'm afraid that I don't know what electricity costs are in the US. And "Running 16 hours a day" means nothing. What it is doing whilst it is running is a huge factor. There is a big difference between a computer running folding@home and one that is just sitting running a screen saver.

The only way that you will really know is to get a power meter, plug your Mac into it for a day or two, running typical tasks, and see how much electricity it uses. Then you can do the sums based on your individual circumstances.

 

[Chainzsaw]

Well, I never did any calculations. But i've read in other places it can cost anywhere from 10-20$ a month running 24/7. Depending on hardware, how much your stressing the hardware, how long your using it, how large the LCD screen is, etc.

IMO ~15$ a month sounds about right. Depending on where you live of course, and the cost of power in your area.

 

[Isaiah4110]

Well, I never did any calculations. But i've read in other places it can cost anywhere from 10-20$ a month running 24/7. Depending on hardware, how much your stressing the hardware, how long your using it, how large the LCD screen is, etc.

IMO ~15$ a month sounds about right. Depending on where you live of course, and the cost of power in your area.

Don't forget that what hours of the day it is running matter as well. Electrical companies in some areas charge double rates during what they consider "peak hours". So having it off while you are out of the house in the middle of the day and running at night while you are sleeping will run you different charges than running during the day and off at night. If you are wanting to do something like running F@H then running it at night will actually save you a little bit.

 

[Chainzsaw]

Yup. The OP will have to do some legwork of his own if you wants to know the true expense of running it how he wants to run it. ijack already gave a good explanation for that method.

AFAIK, a regular fridge with a freezer would use more power than a typical (non gaming) computer in a year.

 

[InvalidError]

Simple method: get a kill-a-watt, record average usage over a few days, scale that up to a whole year and multiply by local kWh cost, weighed between peak and off-peak if the local power-co has dual rates.

 

[asnorton44]

Well lets say you have the 2010 27 inch iMac with an i7 and Radeon 5750, your machine idles at 152W and maxes out at 365W (http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3559). Sleep does not need to be calculated, consuming only 1.44W.

I am just going to average that, which is ~260W. If your in the US most likely your energy costs are around .11 cents per kilowatt hour. At ten hours a day this is an estimated cost:

Cost Per Week: $2.002
Cost Per Month:$8.01
Cost Per Year: $104.10

 

[freet]

Best answer selected by freet.