Power Usage...

[ericlp]

https://gizmodo.com/city-in-new-york-becomes-first-to-ban-new-bitcoin-minin-1823826338

Found this article pretty interesting that hit home for me. I'm not trying to win any races or out do anyone here, since... for one, I can only do so much here. As sometimes I think my 500 watt space heater AKA (my computer) is fighting with the AC. There are no winters here and the temps hover around mid 80's 24/7 365. Probably one of the WORST places to try to have a an EXPENSIVE rig on 24's a day. Lucklily computers
and Tech are my hobbies, with a sidekick of running DC when I'm not needing it to do other things. But, even with just a hobby, for me living in Hawaii, with even a moderate computer running all the time and trying to keep it cool can be costly at almost .50 cents a kWh. Probaby, AC cost more than the computer running DC.

I know that article points to BitCoin Miners, I think running DC we can all relate to higher power electrical bills. As, even with me, I'm wondering if I will get a notice in the mail that fees have gone up yet again, because electricity went up. I think Hawaii is the WORST state to DC in. If I were a business of BitCoin, I'd be looking for the CHEAPEST state or some place where the wind blows 24/7 to power a high wattage output winmill as I looked into solar... Solar would be good, if you only wanted to run the machine when it's sunny out and the panels are producing 70~90% of power between 10AM~2PM. Anything that gets dumped into and out of batteries will take 3-4 times as much power, not to mention batteries are very expensive and you'd only get 7-10 years max out of them. It's not worth it, sadly.

 

[ao_ika_red]

There are always two options:
1. scaling back operation or
2. using the same allocated power budget but keep increasing production by constantly upgrading the hardware
I live in an almost same environment as yours and to reduce power bill, I use ceiling-mounted exhaust fan to suck cooler midnight air. The downside of this solution are increased dust and noisy room. But as long as you have good case filter and sleep in other room, it's a non-issue, I guess.

 

[TennesseeTony]

I once viewed a video on youtube regarding the influx of miners setting up massive operations in Iceland (for cooling, the side-walls were nothing but air filters and fans), with some wind power to offset the strain on the power grid.

 

[ericlp]

well, I just found the article of kicking out people that use the most power interesting. My business is in a "condo" type setting building. Being on the third floor, with many floors above me, exhausting hot air really isn't an option... But... Any how, figured maybe some people would find 4.5 cents a kWh to be extremely cheap. That would be a DC paradise! LOL.

 

[Kiska]

some people would find 4.5 cents a kWh to be extremely cheap.

I would find that really cheap, since I pay 34 cents per kwh

 

[ao_ika_red]

Any how, figured maybe some people would find 4.5 cents a kWh to be extremely cheap. That would be a DC paradise!

Indeed!
https://www.independent.co.uk/envir...sustainability-renewable-energy-a8141431.html

I would find that really cheap, since I pay 34 cents per kwh

Why is it so expensive? Don't your country enjoy cheap coal power? Most of our power stations here are using low calorific thermal coal, hence non-industrial electric rate is about 11 cent USD.

 

[StefanR5R]

https://www.independent.co.uk/envir...sustainability-renewable-energy-a8141431.html

Note that German power generation is not particularly clean. A lot of it is coal, including lignite. Nor is it common for German households to have their rate adjusted on a daily basis. I for one pay a fixed rate over the entire year. (ericlp's > mine > Kiska's rate.)

 

[Kiska]

Don't your country enjoy cheap coal power?

We have maybe 2 or 3 big gentailers(retailer + generators), and they push prices up for us. So there is almost no competition

 

[ao_ika_red]

Note that German power generation is not particularly clean. A lot of it is coal, including lignite. Nor is it common for German households to have their rate adjusted on a daily basis. I for one pay a fixed rate over the entire year. (ericlp's > mine > Kiska's rate.)

Thanks for bringing back reality.

We have maybe 2 or 3 big gentailers(retailer + generators), and they push prices up for us. So there is almost no competition

Just read it on Wikipedia about recent pricing crisis. That's harsh.

 

[indydude345]

I know around where I live the cost of power is quite decent, ~6.3 cents per kWh. Definitely not terrible by any means, but personally I wouldn't want to run more than a few PC's in the summer time, especially in a house where EVERYTHING runs on electricity. We've been thinking about investing in a wind turbine or solar panels, but as it has been stated, probably not worth it unless there is more than 1. Also have to account for the times when there is no wind or it is cloudy and raining, which is quite frequent here. The thought of producing clean energy has always interested me.

 

[Kiska]

Just read it on Wikipedia about recent pricing crisis. That's harsh.

I would install solar, but because the positioning from my neighbours makes that almost impossible, since their shade will cover the panels about 50-60% of the time, so I am stuck with importing power from the grid
How I know? I had a feasibility study done

 

[petrusbroder]

I find 9 cent/KWh (including all taxes and transmission costs) a very good deal - inexpensive. The net price is approx 4,8cent/KWh.

 

[Rudy Toody]

I don't know the rate in Seattle since it comes with the apartment.

I do know this:

With three over-clocked quads, two flat screen monitors, a laser printer, a large window fan, a desk lamp, a coffee maker, a panini grill, a microwave oven, and a recharging nose-hair trimmer all going at once, it all comes to a stop when the refrigerator kicks in.

I thought I'd reprise a post of a few years ago.

 

[Markfw]

Mine is about 7 cents a KWH, and I used 3591 KWH last month.
Its about 13 cents per KWH if you add those other things in.

 

[ericlp]

3591 kWh would be about 1800 bucks where I live.

 

[TennesseeTony]

HOLY SHucks Batman!

 

[Markfw]

3591 kWh would be about 1800 bucks where I live.

It was $450 here. I cut back a little, $582 last month

 

[Ken g6]

I would say there are three steps to minimizing power use with DC:

1. Get the newest, widest processors possible. That means Threadripper > i3, 1070ti > 980ti.

2. Underclock as much as you're willing to. For some projects, for instance PrimeGrid PPS sieve, you can underclock your GPU RAM without significant penalty.

3. Minimize voltage as much as possible, without crashing or producing computation errors. This applies to hardware purchases as well. Try to get fast 1.2V DDR4 if you can.