HTPC & energy use

unkel

Right, my first post here

Was tempted to buy a HP microserver with the current cash back deal, but then I realised I had an old Acer microtower lying about

So I stuck in a 1TB HDD yesterday, installed Windows 7 pro and XBMC, loaded it with content and hooked it up to my 1080p TV via the built-in HDMI. Connected the ethernet port too. Working great with the tiny wireless keyboard with built-in trackpad I ordered from China recently

Using it as NAS too, will add another HDD when I run out of space. I can also remote desktop onto it

Now the HTPC energy use is about 50W when playing a 1080p movie, which is reasonable enough, but it's still using about 40W when idling. I always need to be able to use the NAS and remote onto the HTPC so I can't let it go to sleep / hibernate

Any other way to reduce energy consumption?

At 95% idle and 5% running at full speed, the annual electricity bill for the HTPC would be about €60 - I'd rather bring that down if I could...

40W idle is pretty reasonable.

The N54L idles about 25-30W and the older N40L about 20-25.

You're not going to get much lower without going to an ARM based NAS like some of the off-the-shelf units from Synology, Qnap etc. And use something like an RPi for playback.

If you want to keep your setup I would just go through all the Windows power settings. Disable hardware that you don't need in the BIOS.

A 3.5" drive uses about 4-5W when spinning so spin it down when idle if possible. Constant spin ups/downs will shorten the life of the drive though.

You could save a couple of Watt by going to a 2.5" drive but you'll pay more by the GB obviously.

A more efficient PSU would likely save you a few Watts also.

unkel

I was afraid someone was going to say that

I had an old Windows 7 netbook hooked up to the TV before and while it played 1080p via HDMI, the quality wasn't great (stuttering now and then). It only used 16W though while playing 1080p through VLC player which was good

I'm already using the Window 7 default of spinning down the hard disk after 30 minutes, so that's included in the 40W. I'll try and disable unnecessary hardware but I reckon I won't save more than 5-10W at the very max

Investing in more efficient hardware is putting the cart behind the horse imho. I ain't gonna spend €100 (or much more) to save €10 per year in electricity

Johnboy1951

How do you measure the power consumption?

Do you have some device into which the HTPC is plugged for measurement?

unkel

Comes up in Aldi / Lidl regularly for €9.99. You'll have your investment saved in a few months or quicker

Look into letting it sleep and waking it via a WOL packet. May or may not be possible, check the BIOS.

unkel

Had no experience with WOL, checked the BIOS of the HTPC and yes it supports it! (found out later that you don't even need BIOS support, you can set it as a property of the network adapter within windows). Right, noted down the mac address of the HTPC. Then put it to sleep. Power consumption when asleep is 4-6W so that's perfect.

Found this command line WOL utility

And just executed a basic WOL command from my main PC. And remoted succesfully onto the HTPC just a few seconds later. Works a treat

You can also set the XBMC remote apps on Android or iOS to automatically send a WOL packet when you start them up.

unkel

I might look into that, I see there's a windows phone app too. None of them are free (I dislike paying for software )

For the moment I use this - it's about the size of a large mobile phone (and about the quarter of the weight) and works very well. Can't see an app working in a more user friendly way than the functionality of a full keyboard + mouse...



Linky

The official remote apps are free on iOS and Android. Anything that asks you to pay isn't by Team-XBMC.

unkel

Quite right! Found the free app for Windows Phone 8. Setup was easy and it's working very well!

You've been a great help, thank you very much

Padraig Mor

unkel wrote: »

Quite right! Found the free app for Windows Phone 8. Setup was easy and it's working very well!

You've been a great help, thank you very much

I think Yatse is available on WP? Have it on Android. Fantastic app - I even paid for it even though the free version is fully functional.

MAJJ

Deleted User wrote: »

You can also set the XBMC remote apps on Android or iOS to automatically send a WOL packet when you start them up.

Thanks, I Kill You Scum! Words I don't get to say often, great name
Cheers, didn't know this WOL piece and it works great.
I have a N54L microserver has no sleep just hibernate and USB keyboard doesn't wake, was already playing with the official android XBMC remote but didn't reliase I could use it the wake/hibernate.