housing/power dispute: please help!

[SKC]

hey everyone,

was just wondering if anyone knew the power consumption for desktop and laptop computers (kilowatt/watt hours)? My roomates and I are currently in a semi-dispute with our landlord-- the laundry machines we have in our apartment (one of the selling points of our place) are not working. Specifically, the dryer is really, really inefficient at drying clothes and the timer doesn't work. This latter point is a problem because someone always has to be there when we're doing laundry so it doesn't just keep running. Our PG&E bill has been astronomical in the past few months- almost $200 for an under-1,300 square foot apartment. We don't turn on the heat at all and don't take long showers-- but we do have 4 desktops and 3 laptops running (not constantly). We're planning to take the power consumption figures for the computers to the landlord and show that the power bill is extraordinarily high not because of us, but because of the laundry machines (which should be their responsibility to fix, both as landlords and as the people that emphasized "free laundry!").

..so, any help with power consumption figures would be really, really appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[amdskip]

I say basically a laptop, a tower, and a monitor all take the same amount of juice as a 60w light bulb turned on. So that would be like 11 lightbulbs turned on for you.

 

[HomeBrewerDude]

I suggest you have the guy fix your dryer, and see if that effects your bill. Thats got to be fixed anyways.


You can call the power company to request last years bills for your residence....


ask your neighbors too what they pay....

 

[SKC]

yes, there's definitely something off, as my house (in the bay area as well) has a smaller power bill, and it's about three times the square footage of the apartment.

Thanks for the suggestions and advice!

amdskip, is your lightbulb analogy a rough estimate (can I ask how you came to that figure?)


edit: grammar

 

[amdskip]

Yes, mine is a rough estimate and it has been mentioned in threads before on topics similar to yours. Theres a lot of variables on things like system specs, etc.

 

[TwiceOver]

If the previous years power statements aren't enough, you should consider pulling the plugs on your washer and dryer and using a laundry place for 1 month. It's going to cost a lot of quarters but then you would have some solid proof.

 

[SKC]

I see.. thanks very much. I only found one other thread concerning power draw from computers; sorry if this is a repeat.

I'll try your suggestions.

 

[flot]

It will depend on a number of factors - but I'm pretty sure your average home PC and monitor will draw upwards of 100w when running. The only figure I can think of off the top of my head was the new Dell 20" LCD I just got, since I saw it mentioned a few times - 90 watts. Doing a quick google search for "17" power consumption" leads to numbers anywhere between 45 and 75 watts for a few CRT monitors.

Here is a link to some tests some guy appeared to do on his own setup, looks like about 120-150w under normal use.

150w x 4 machines is a decent amount of power to be using on a constant basis... Your dryer, water heater, heat/A/C. and other big items like that will use considerably more, but are on for shorter time periods.

HOWEVER, having said all that - there are much easier ways to go about figuring this info out. Just go find your power meter, take a reading, turn off EVERYTHING and then turn something on for 10 mins to an hour, then see what the power meter says. That might be easier said than done depending on your meter, but worst case you can have somebody go outside and count the thing spin around for 10 mins.

BUT... it sounds like the real issue you have is that the dryer is a POS. I'm not sure how much the efficiency would vary on a newer dryer, but the doesn't-shut-off part is pretty dangerous.. I have the same problem with mine at home and it IS a pain to have to watch it... but I certainly don't have any high electricity bills because of it- I think you may be chasing the wrong issue.

 

[SKC]

thanks to everyone that posted advice/information.

For anyone who's curious, I found a page here (from pg&e) that has calculators for most appliances in your home; you input daily/monthly usage and it calculates an estimated cost. One computer with a crt and lcd, on 20 hours a day, 30 days a month costs approximately $20. Ours are on much less; there's something definitely funny about this.

 

[Maetryx]

Another thing to consider is that a used dryer out of the classifieds can be very, very inexpensive. And dryers aren't that complicated. They have an electric coil for heat, and a motor for spinning. A used dryer can be tried out by plugging it in and seeing if it spins and feeling for heat. I would not hesitate to buy a used dryer from a yard sale if it looked okay and could be demonstrated as working.

None of this holds true for a washer. You have to be much more careful.

 

[Bleep]

Just go to your local power co and ask for the loan of a portable wattmeter. You will get a meter just like the one on the building that they use to get your power usage. Take it home and plug your stuff into it for 24 hours exactly and they you can calculate the power per day of every appliance that you have and see what is running up the bill.
Bleep