How much power/money is used by keeping a F@H running 24/7 on a computer?
Roughly, a CPU uses about as much power as a 60 watt lightbulb. Here’s a report on computer power management from Lawrence Berkeley goverment labs, and there are other referencs on the web you can find. Although power supplies on most computers are rated at 250 watts, average usage is much lower. On average, a Pentium-type computer uses between 45-70 watts (I’ve read various different sources on this) while it is on. If the computer has no idle mode, it will use the same amount of energy whether it is running a program or not. If it is on idle, it will comsume around 25 watts. So, the daily difference between off and running F@H is about 24x(45 to 70) = 1.1 to 1.7 kWh. At $0.14 per kWh ( from PG&E here in California), this works out to about $0.15 to $0.24 per day, or perhaps $6 a month. The difference between an idled computer and one running F@H would be closer to $4 a month – and if the computer was already being used 8 hours a day, it would be closer to $3 a month. In general, ligh
