idlers to save energy- the CERN way

vyasvyas OG
edited September 2022 in General

So the Large Hadron Collider will not collide this winter, and idle instead. Source: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32736563

What are your energy saving strategies?

Comments

  • MikeAMikeA Hosting ProviderOG

    For people who pay their own electricity, what's your typical kWh usage per month? Before I moved to Florida I had no idea how ridiculous it would be. I literally don't run anything that uses power except for my AC (which you need to here to avoid dying from the heat/humidity) and an electric water heater... Last month was 1686 kWh usage. Literally can't seem to find a way to lower it since it seems to be mostly from AC use or water heater (granted tap water here is like 90*f anyway..)

    ExtraVM - High RAM Specials
    Yours truly.

  • hostdarehostdare Hosting Provider

    @MikeA said: Last month was 1686 kWh usage.

    how many acs ?

    HostDare - Best webhosting provider! | Our premium vps plans | Cheap Shared Hosting

  • @MikeA said:
    For people who pay their own electricity, what's your typical kWh usage per month? Before I moved to Florida I had no idea how ridiculous it would be. I literally don't run anything that uses power except for my AC (which you need to here to avoid dying from the heat/humidity) and an electric water heater... Last month was 1686 kWh usage. Literally can't seem to find a way to lower it since it seems to be mostly from AC use or water heater (granted tap water here is like 90*f anyway..)

    Maybe use an inverter Air Conditioner type if you plan to turn it on all day.

    And for water heater, instead of using electric water heater which obvious consume a lot energy, use a gas water heater type or solar panel water heater instead.

    These will reduce your usage dramatically.

  • MikeAMikeA Hosting ProviderOG

    @Fritz said:

    @MikeA said:
    For people who pay their own electricity, what's your typical kWh usage per month? Before I moved to Florida I had no idea how ridiculous it would be. I literally don't run anything that uses power except for my AC (which you need to here to avoid dying from the heat/humidity) and an electric water heater... Last month was 1686 kWh usage. Literally can't seem to find a way to lower it since it seems to be mostly from AC use or water heater (granted tap water here is like 90*f anyway..)

    Maybe use an inverter Air Conditioner type if you plan to turn it on all day.

    And for water heater, instead of using electric water heater which obvious consume a lot energy, use a gas water heater type or solar panel water heater instead.

    These will reduce your usage dramatically.

    It's an apartment, so I can't change anything. When I lived in Texas, we had a gas water heater. :(

    ExtraVM - High RAM Specials
    Yours truly.

  • skorupionskorupion Services Provider

    @MikeA said:
    For people who pay their own electricity, what's your typical kWh usage per month? Before I moved to Florida I had no idea how ridiculous it would be. I literally don't run anything that uses power except for my AC (which you need to here to avoid dying from the heat/humidity) and an electric water heater... Last month was 1686 kWh usage. Literally can't seem to find a way to lower it since it seems to be mostly from AC use or water heater (granted tap water here is like 90*f anyway..)

    Do you have a PC?
    If yes then it may be consuming a shit load ton of power, you can switch to using a laptop if you arent gaming.

    Crunchbits Technical Support, Technical Writer, and Sales
    Contact me at: +1 (347) 518-1661 or [email protected]

  • Turn off that 65" plasma TV, when you're not watching. ;)

    It wisnae me! A big boy done it and ran away.
    NVMe2G for life! until death (the end is nigh)

  • @AlwaysSkint said:
    Turn off that 65" plasma TV, when you're not watching. ;)

    bye bye HD 8k P0rn

    Thanked by (1)Ympker
  • @MikeA said: For people who pay their own electricity, what's your typical kWh usage per month?

    lowest i've seen is 200kwh, maximum i had is 700 kwh.

    @MikeA said: 1686 kWh usage.

    what is your kwh price?

  • MasonMason AdministratorOG

    @MikeA said:
    For people who pay their own electricity, what's your typical kWh usage per month?

    We usually average 1500-2000 kWh/mo. Four of us in the house. Majority of that is probably heating/cooling -- we have a heat pump so it's an energy hog.

    Head Janitor @ LES • AboutRulesSupport

  • MikeAMikeA Hosting ProviderOG

    @henix said:
    what is your kwh price?

    8.37c (8 cents) for the first 1000kWh, 9.26c for all past 1000kWh, plus a separate "fuel charge" of around 0.25-0.28c/kWh, plus around $40 in various local taxes. So 1686 kWh cost roughly $290 USD. 1 bedroom apartment that's like 700 sqft (65~sqm).

    A TV is on in the evening sometimes, but it's an OLED TV, so power use is probably less than a small aquarium chiller that runs 247. Other than that, it's just the fridge, laptop, two monitors lol.

    ExtraVM - High RAM Specials
    Yours truly.

  • @MikeA said:

    @henix said:
    what is your kwh price?

    8.37c (8 cents) for the first 1000kWh, 9.26c for all past 1000kWh, plus a separate "fuel charge" of around 0.25-0.28c/kWh, plus around $40 in various local taxes. So 1686 kWh cost roughly $290 USD. 1 bedroom apartment that's like 700 sqft (65~sqm).

    A TV is on in the evening sometimes, but it's an OLED TV, so power use is probably less than a small aquarium chiller that runs 247. Other than that, it's just the fridge, laptop, two monitors lol.

    My history in Florida (nearly 30 years) is the energy usage is indeed dominated by the A/C. Still haven't figured out a way around that given the relative humidity and temps make it hard to "feel" cool. Ceiling fans help, but it's not going to drastically change the A/C runtime.

  • 153kWh yearly average on my end. Noticed a huge change in consumption (maybe 20-30%) after I replaced my fridge a few years back, apparently the older those get the more energy they require to keep things cooler due to leakage of the cooling agent.

    so say we all

  • havochavoc OGContent Writer

    @MikeA said:
    For people who pay their own electricity, what's your typical kWh usage per month?

    350-400 kwh monthly, no real heating/cooling. Think most of that is the old fridge that's 80% to blame...but rented so can't do anything about that. Works out to equivalent of like 150ish USD

  • bikegremlinbikegremlin ModeratorOGContent Writer
    edited September 2022

    Serbian prices for private use (i.e. not business), roughly:
    5 cents per KW/h for electricity usage of up to 350 KW/h per month.
    8 cents for electricity used over the 350 KW/h per month, to 1600 KW/h per month (not 100% sure about this).
    16 cents for over 1600 KW/h per month.
    I think the 16-cent price level should start at 800 KW/h if we wish to avoid shortage, and the prices must go up for at least 30%

    We use about 300 KW/h per month on average, which costs about $30.

    LED lights, energy efficient stove, refridgerator, and washing machine.

    The biggest consumption is for heating the water (when I get a dishwasher, I expect to use a bit less hot water), and for the AC, since the flat is on the south-east side, with a ton of sunshine, and the insulation is not what I'd call good. Still, with the electricity prices as they are, paying a ton of money for a more energy-efficient AC didn't seem to make sense (had a lot of other expenses when we were moving in and renovating, and the price difference was about $500 at the time if memory serves me correctly).

    Thanked by (1)MikeA

    Relja of House Novović, the First of His Name, King of the Plains, the Breaker of Chains, WirMach Wolves pack member
    BikeGremlin's web-hosting reviews

  • vyasvyas OG
    edited September 2022

    @MikeA said:

    @henix said:
    what is your kwh price?

    8.37c (8 cents) for the first 1000kWh, 9.26c for all past 1000kWh, plus a separate "fuel charge" of around 0.25-0.28c/kWh, plus around $40 in various local taxes. So 1686 kWh cost roughly $290 USD. 1 bedroom apartment that's like 700 sqft (65~sqm).

    A TV is on in the evening sometimes, but it's an OLED TV, so power use is probably less than a small aquarium chiller that runs 247. Other than that, it's just the fridge, laptop, two monitors lol.

    What temp is the AC set to? Are the vents near the floor or the ceiling?

    Using a fan helps. Set temp of AC to a degree or two higher and have a fan running. Huge difference on temp.

    I recall most apartments did not have a provision for a fan in the ceiling. So a couple of small table fans might also do the trick.

    Befriending
    “Hot air rises higher” for savings.

    Works beautifully in coastal tropical cities (Mumbai, Chennai, Magaluru) …. Florida should be quite the same.

  • MikeAMikeA Hosting ProviderOG

    @vyas AC is set to 74*F. There are two big tower fans setup in each room. One issue is the AC unit itself is just too small, and our apartment is in direct sunlight every hour of the day, the sun rises on one side and sets on the other side.

    Thanked by (1)vyas

    ExtraVM - High RAM Specials
    Yours truly.

  • MikePTMikePT Hosting ProviderOGServices Provider

    @MikeA said:
    @vyas AC is set to 74*F. There are two big tower fans setup in each room. One issue is the AC unit itself is just too small, and our apartment is in direct sunlight every hour of the day, the sun rises on one side and sets on the other side.

    That means it's not sufficient to cover the whole apartment so it's working on max speed the time. That's why you pay that much for electricity.

  • @MikeA said:
    @vyas AC is set to 74*F. There are two big tower fans setup in each room. One issue is the AC unit itself is just too small, and our apartment is in direct sunlight every hour of the day, the sun rises on one side and sets on the other side.

    You have the right systems but Mother Nature overriding…
    we had an apartment like that. Bedrooms on Southwest side, window panes would crack every other year because it was 45 deg C outside and AC inside at 24 deg C. Had to change to double layer glass, 2 films of pvc coating and thermal paint on the inside wall. Lower ceiling by a foot by adding tiles. Was a pain in the rear end.

  • ialexpwialexpw OGServices Provider

    I use roughly 175-195kWh in electricity for an apartment/flat. We also don't have AC here though!

    Syuh - sftp, rsync & rclone accessible storage from 50GB to TBs.

  • @MikeA said:
    For people who pay their own electricity, what's your typical kWh usage per month?

    In the UK for a 3 bedroom house, but living alone, my monthly electricity usage is about 280 kWh per month throughout the year. I'd guess most of that is the PC and fridge, but also cooking will contribute heavily too, especially for the oven. Lighting probably isn't significant as I use 8W bulbs and only have one or two on at a time at most.

    In the peak winter last year, when it was unusually cold (below freezing for a few weeks, normally it's only a couple of days), I was using about 2000 kWh of gas (which is about 25% of the price of electricity by kWh) for the month. In a normal winter, it's about 1400 kWh. Over summer, my gas usage is about 20 kWh per month which is mostly hot water for washing up as I have an electric shower and electric oven.

  • skorupionskorupion Services Provider

    @MikeA said:
    @vyas AC is set to 74*F. There are two big tower fans setup in each room. One issue is the AC unit itself is just too small, and our apartment is in direct sunlight every hour of the day, the sun rises on one side and sets on the other side.

    Get some good shades for your windows (And I mean REALLY Fing good)

    Crunchbits Technical Support, Technical Writer, and Sales
    Contact me at: +1 (347) 518-1661 or [email protected]

  • hostdarehostdare Hosting Provider

    @MikeA said: One issue is the AC unit itself is just too small,

    You will need a bigger ac with inverter technology if your apartment allows changing ac

    HostDare - Best webhosting provider! | Our premium vps plans | Cheap Shared Hosting

  • BlaZeBlaZe Hosting ProviderOG

    @MikeA said:
    For people who pay their own electricity, what's your typical kWh usage per month? Before I moved to Florida I had no idea how ridiculous it would be. I literally don't run anything that uses power except for my AC (which you need to here to avoid dying from the heat/humidity) and an electric water heater... Last month was 1686 kWh usage. Literally can't seem to find a way to lower it since it seems to be mostly from AC use or water heater (granted tap water here is like 90*f anyway..)

    That's really a lot!

    Last month consumption was 383 kWh for my house - using A/Cs occasionally (usually at night for an hour or during afternoon while having lunch)

    Other than that, there's a Fridge running 24x7, Water Heater, Washing Machine, Induction Cooker, etc.

    ExoticVM.com - Find VPS in exotic locations!

  • vyasvyas OG
    edited September 2022

    We have a tiered pricing structure

    Rate “a” for first 50 kwh
    Rate “b” for next 50 i.e 51-100 kwh
    Rate “c” for next 100 i.e 101-200 kwh
    And
    Rate “d” for above 200 units.

    August we had 230 ish units, which was rather high usage- including taxes bill came to about 30 US Dollars.

    This month aiming to reduce it by abt 15 percent. Lets see.

    Apartment, faces due east, no AC used for over 3 months . On one count, too Bad we live in Bengaluru because unlike @dosai we have to pay for electricity. S/he gets 100 kwh free every month. Reliability of power is suspect though But I am not complaining!! Not even on radar to change cities to save a few hundred rupees each month

    Hot water geyser in showers use reduced, (thats is also how one can @ehab proof the house) checking in converting desktop to headless storage server reduces electricity. Otherwise next month move to RPi

Sign In or Register to comment.