[OZAPRS] APRS computer power consumption

Shaun shaunbaby at optusnet.com.au
Sat Dec 11 10:36:44 EST 2010


Wow,

Netbook with an external screen that you turn off when not in use.   Could get 
you under 30 watts.  And at $200 per go I could replace my old Gateway 433 
celeron and be in front in a year or so.

I should borrow a meter from work to check its current consumption.

Shaun

On Sat, 11 Dec 2010 10:05:49 Darryl Smith wrote:
> Tony,
>
> I need to be even more careful with what I say here. But if you check the
> national minimum requirements for smart meters, you will find that one of
> the required capabilities is for people to be able to extract real time
> consumption data. I hope to be able to say more about the subject later
> this year, but right now I am somewhat constrained. The summary is that not
> every power company is evil, but you would expect me to say that since I am
> doing a lot of work for one.
>
> Getting this back close to the subject of APRS, a good rule of thumb is
> that if you take the wattage of a device and double it, then that is about
> what the device costs a year to run. It is slightly over, but you get the
> point. The thing is that a computer using 300W continuous consumes about
> $567/year of energy at $0.22/kWh. A more modern computer will consume under
> 100W, or $189/year. By replacing the computer with a more efficient one,
> you can save at least $350/year! And the newer computer will probably not
> cost more than that anyway
>
> I replaced two servers, one running at 300W, and another at about 400W,
> with a single unit running at under 100W. This saved over $1000/year with a
> capital cost of under $1000.
>
> I know there is a great need for low power computers out there, and I am
> keeping my eye out in order to assist the APRS and HAM community with the
> availability of hardware. There are now sub $200 netbooks on the market
> (Sam's Warehouse for instance) that can also be used.
>
> Darryl
>
>


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