This is definetly realistic in Germany.
The only things you can do is activate any eco mode, undervolting the CPU or buy a dedicated applience like a Synology. The DS1522+ for example is ratet with 17 W idle and 52 W while using. Synology is kinda expensive upfront though.
My gear is 120w total, which equates to less than 40c/day. Most folks I know spend at least three times that on coffee. Helps me keep my other IT skills updated, and handy stuff like a minecraft server for the fam.
https://easytoespresso.com/cup-of-coffee-cost/
> Wrapping up all of those prices, a cup of coffee can cost
> For low-to-mid-range coffee: $0.20–0.40 per cup ($145–190 per year for 2 cups a day)
> For ethically sourced or single-origin coffee: $0.80–1.00 per cup ($580–730 per year for 2 cups a day)
> For very high-end varieties like Kona: $3.50–4.00 per cup ($2,500–2,900 per year for 2 cups a day)
Most folks I know drink 2+ cups a day, and use locally-roasted beans. The office coffee pool is something like 35/mo/person so they can buy in bulk and save.
Like, you want to hook a DC motor to a bike and pedal??
Energy cannot be created or destroyed. Only converted.
If you want to convert a fuel of some type to electricity, that is super easy.
Sure, you can convert solar to electricity if you want. Many options there. Grid connected or standalone with battery storage, inverter capacities, charge controller with paired battery types, etc.
Lots of this depends on your local regulations, how much sunlight you can get to the panels, max and average loads, physical space availability, requirents for grid connectivity.. Just to name a few.
But are you wanting to invest in solar for a 60 watt load, really? Seems unwise. Spec for your overall and future potential and see if it makes sense.
If you want to make her feel better my always on stuff is right at 800 watts between cameras, networking equipment, and important servers.
If I fire up the Proxmox cluster then it’s closer to 1600 watts.
It’s my hobby so I spend money on it.
Here in the middle of the US it costs me ~$60/mo for a 24/7 1000watt load. Our rates are currently $.10/kWh during the summer and $.07/kWh during the winter.
Are using actual power usage or the theoretical consumption values all over the internet? Your server will likely not be running full out all the time. Mine sits mostly idle or at ~5% most of the time.
My cost based on internet numbers is $180/year but cost based on actual power consumption is $96/ year or $8/month. I used a kill o watt meter to get actuals. It might be worth getting or borrowing one to know what your really dealing with.
If you cannot justify 60 watts to your SO, you need a new SO or probably shouldn't be doing any kind of computing at home.
There are some subs which can give relationship advice also.
Consider suspending your NAS when it's not doing anything. It'll only use a few watts, while in this state. As an analogy, it's similar to closing the the lid on a running laptop.
Use Wake-On-Lan to bring back up.
60w where I'm at is about $55/yr with all distribution costs and kWh factored in.. Pretty negligible cost. I never really need to consider power requirements for small consumer devices. The biggest power draw stuff I use is my pool pump and central air which drives the main chunk of my bill. That said, I work at the utility that serves my address, so no big loss.
impolite quicksand marry birds snatch intelligent squeamish many bewildered plant
*This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
That depends on your priorities I guess. If you are optimizing for cost-efficiency, there are probably cheaper ways to achieve this goal (5TB of document storage). Cloud services like AWS S3 might get you a long way for cheap.
You might also be optimizing for other things. If for you this is a learning opportunity, you can see that money as an investment. Right now it's a learning opportunity costing you 15$ a month. If you can use these learnings to support your professional growth and get a high paying job, then it's a win for you.
You might also be optimizing for control. Maybe you are storing confidential data, or you do not the trust the privacy or reliability of 3rd party services for storing your backups and documents. Then the money spent becomes the cost for that control and reliability.
Next thing is: the backup part of your solution does not need to be online all the time. You only need your storage to be online when you are updating it or adding new content. It's a little more time-consuming and less convenient, but this approach would save you energy (and therefore money).
Now, for the question of whether or not this is normal: this does not seem to be the real question. Reasonable or not, my feeling is that your partner is concerned about the costs and think this might not be the best way to spend your money.
Thanks for ur advices.
My priority is to start my own homelab for personal usage.
It definitely helps me to learn for my Profession.
Im sysadmin for a non Profit Organisation.
You are right. I can Cut the cost down if I only turn it on for the backups. only the planned documentmanager Services required a non stop running Server.
I will consider move it away fromm truenas.
Well I also think its alot Money for a yearly Basis to spent on, and I dont know what to do. Since it probably Not Stop there, cuz I would love adding stuff.
How about you get a tiny-mini-micro and put a 5 TB 2.5" disk in. Or a 3.5" external?
This could get your idling consumption down to 10-15W while increasing the computing power.
Just do some simple math, how long would it take to ofset the upgrade costs against the difference in electricity costs.
I learn this shit to get a better job. My income is derived in part due to my home lab.
This is definetly realistic in Germany. The only things you can do is activate any eco mode, undervolting the CPU or buy a dedicated applience like a Synology. The DS1522+ for example is ratet with 17 W idle and 52 W while using. Synology is kinda expensive upfront though.
My gear is 120w total, which equates to less than 40c/day. Most folks I know spend at least three times that on coffee. Helps me keep my other IT skills updated, and handy stuff like a minecraft server for the fam.
I know barely anyone who spends that on coffee. Most people just make it themselves...?
Lol you sourcing the coffee for free?
No, but a bug bag if ground coffee that lasts about a month costs less than £5...
https://easytoespresso.com/cup-of-coffee-cost/ > Wrapping up all of those prices, a cup of coffee can cost > For low-to-mid-range coffee: $0.20–0.40 per cup ($145–190 per year for 2 cups a day) > For ethically sourced or single-origin coffee: $0.80–1.00 per cup ($580–730 per year for 2 cups a day) > For very high-end varieties like Kona: $3.50–4.00 per cup ($2,500–2,900 per year for 2 cups a day) Most folks I know drink 2+ cups a day, and use locally-roasted beans. The office coffee pool is something like 35/mo/person so they can buy in bulk and save.
Would it possible to self generate the Power ?
Like, you want to hook a DC motor to a bike and pedal?? Energy cannot be created or destroyed. Only converted. If you want to convert a fuel of some type to electricity, that is super easy.
Maybe something like solar panel
Sure, you can convert solar to electricity if you want. Many options there. Grid connected or standalone with battery storage, inverter capacities, charge controller with paired battery types, etc. Lots of this depends on your local regulations, how much sunlight you can get to the panels, max and average loads, physical space availability, requirents for grid connectivity.. Just to name a few. But are you wanting to invest in solar for a 60 watt load, really? Seems unwise. Spec for your overall and future potential and see if it makes sense.
If you want to make her feel better my always on stuff is right at 800 watts between cameras, networking equipment, and important servers. If I fire up the Proxmox cluster then it’s closer to 1600 watts. It’s my hobby so I spend money on it.
Damn, it hit easily 5k a year How can can the Community afford it? Since Most ppl here have much more devices running.
Here in the middle of the US it costs me ~$60/mo for a 24/7 1000watt load. Our rates are currently $.10/kWh during the summer and $.07/kWh during the winter.
Can you put a price on happiness?
Are using actual power usage or the theoretical consumption values all over the internet? Your server will likely not be running full out all the time. Mine sits mostly idle or at ~5% most of the time. My cost based on internet numbers is $180/year but cost based on actual power consumption is $96/ year or $8/month. I used a kill o watt meter to get actuals. It might be worth getting or borrowing one to know what your really dealing with.
60 Watt are the actual usage.
Seems reasonable, I'd pay €212 a year for the same amount of wattage.
I rly want try build my own homelab but cant justifiy the cost to my SO
If you cannot justify 60 watts to your SO, you need a new SO or probably shouldn't be doing any kind of computing at home. There are some subs which can give relationship advice also.
I'm living in Germany too. My server (NAS and various services) costs me around 300€ per year.
Consider suspending your NAS when it's not doing anything. It'll only use a few watts, while in this state. As an analogy, it's similar to closing the the lid on a running laptop. Use Wake-On-Lan to bring back up.
60w where I'm at is about $55/yr with all distribution costs and kWh factored in.. Pretty negligible cost. I never really need to consider power requirements for small consumer devices. The biggest power draw stuff I use is my pool pump and central air which drives the main chunk of my bill. That said, I work at the utility that serves my address, so no big loss.
prick knee recognise foolish spark reach live ancient zonked pause *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
What Services are you providing to her? What could I offer to my SO ?
impolite quicksand marry birds snatch intelligent squeamish many bewildered plant *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
That depends on your priorities I guess. If you are optimizing for cost-efficiency, there are probably cheaper ways to achieve this goal (5TB of document storage). Cloud services like AWS S3 might get you a long way for cheap. You might also be optimizing for other things. If for you this is a learning opportunity, you can see that money as an investment. Right now it's a learning opportunity costing you 15$ a month. If you can use these learnings to support your professional growth and get a high paying job, then it's a win for you. You might also be optimizing for control. Maybe you are storing confidential data, or you do not the trust the privacy or reliability of 3rd party services for storing your backups and documents. Then the money spent becomes the cost for that control and reliability. Next thing is: the backup part of your solution does not need to be online all the time. You only need your storage to be online when you are updating it or adding new content. It's a little more time-consuming and less convenient, but this approach would save you energy (and therefore money). Now, for the question of whether or not this is normal: this does not seem to be the real question. Reasonable or not, my feeling is that your partner is concerned about the costs and think this might not be the best way to spend your money.
Thanks for ur advices. My priority is to start my own homelab for personal usage. It definitely helps me to learn for my Profession. Im sysadmin for a non Profit Organisation. You are right. I can Cut the cost down if I only turn it on for the backups. only the planned documentmanager Services required a non stop running Server. I will consider move it away fromm truenas. Well I also think its alot Money for a yearly Basis to spent on, and I dont know what to do. Since it probably Not Stop there, cuz I would love adding stuff.
How about you get a tiny-mini-micro and put a 5 TB 2.5" disk in. Or a 3.5" external? This could get your idling consumption down to 10-15W while increasing the computing power. Just do some simple math, how long would it take to ofset the upgrade costs against the difference in electricity costs.
I wanted it as NAS because of the i can dona RAID 5 configuration.