Holy Power Costs, batman!
- Thread starter IVB
- Start date
IVB
Senior Member
Oho, now that's the difference between us! I'm approaching 5 years of using SageTV, there is literally zero chance I could get away with 1 TB - I have 1.5TB for SageTV alone, 3.5TB (usable) in a variety of hard disks.
I can't just put it on a single NAS either; i've got 1 200GB RAID1 for email/finance/digital pictures, 1.5TB RAID5 for TV, 1 400GB RAID1 for lossless CDs, and 1.5TB in JBOD ripped DVDs. That's ~12 hard disks in 4 physical seperate arrays. It'll be distributed to 2 different 24x7 PCs.
I could reduce that to 3 arrays (email/etc, TV+DVD, CDs), but that's as far as I'd be willing to go. Any more and you're crossing the streams unsafely. IIRC, a NAS is about 60W, 3 of them are 180W, add that to the 22W for the zTroller and you're well over what a regular PC would do.
Don't worry Rupp - you too will be an HTPC freak soon enough, at which point the zTroller won't be that big a deal as you may as well squish it onto your mega-file server
But doesnt this make it more worthwhile for homeowners to get solar etc to cut their monthly usage to a lower tier and maximize savings? If you could generate a few hundred Kwh a month your electric bill would be very low. With net metering it would also help them meet demand without building as many power plants.
Between solar and conservation they would not need to build more plants to keep the lights on in the summer etc.
BraveSirRobbin
Moderator
I don't think solar power is affordable for homeowners yet. I looked into it at one time many years ago and there were just to many years before I would reach the break even point of money outlaid for it to be worth it. Now maybe this technology is much cheaper than when I first looked into it, just not sure...
My point was that with electric that high and solar dropping a little the ROI might be less than you would think. Depends on rebates. On Long Island the rebates are $3 a watt from the power company. Then the state rebate is $2k maximum I think and the regular Federal rebate. Comes out to about $4 a watt or a little less installed. So a 5 KW system is just under $20K. Might be a 7 or 8 year payback at the CA rates depending on usage (if you can save about $300 a month).
Also I doubt rates will go anywhere but up.
IVB
Senior Member
I had actually looked into it last year, but couldn't afford yet another loan for the costs. Plus, I didn't find out until Sept about a tax rebate that expired at EOY for it. It does break even in about 7ish years.
Finally and most importantly, I'm remodeling my house and adding a 2nd floor before break-even. I'd be concerned about the idiot construction folks breaking the panels. So that's pretty much the deal-killer right there.
Finally and most importantly, I'm remodeling my house and adding a 2nd floor before break-even. I'd be concerned about the idiot construction folks breaking the panels. So that's pretty much the deal-killer right there.
AutomatedOutlet
Senior Member
A 7 year ROI also assumes that electric costs don't rise over that 7 years - right?
Rupp
Senior Member
I guess I'm still a beginner. I record a show, watch it, delete it. I've still not used more than 300GB yet.Oho, now that's the difference between us! I'm approaching 5 years of using SageTV, there is literally zero chance I could get away with 1 TB - I have 1.5TB for SageTV alone, 3.5TB (usable) in a variety of hard disks.
I can't just put it on a single NAS either; i've got 1 200GB RAID1 for email/finance/digital pictures, 1.5TB RAID5 for TV, 1 400GB RAID1 for lossless CDs, and 1.5TB in JBOD ripped DVDs. That's ~12 hard disks in 4 physical seperate arrays. It'll be distributed to 2 different 24x7 PCs.
I could reduce that to 3 arrays (email/etc, TV+DVD, CDs), but that's as far as I'd be willing to go. Any more and you're crossing the streams unsafely. IIRC, a NAS is about 60W, 3 of them are 180W, add that to the 22W for the zTroller and you're well over what a regular PC would do.
Don't worry Rupp - you too will be an HTPC freak soon enough, at which point the zTroller won't be that big a deal as you may as well squish it onto your mega-file server
IVB
Senior Member
AutomatedOutlet
Senior Member
Rupp, I think the issue is when you have multiple people in the house all recording stuff. At least it's that way in my house.
Rupp
Senior Member
Nope, it's still way too expensive for most users to put up enough panels to really matter. It takes $10,000-$12,000 to even generate enough power to run lights and appliances. Forget about heating and cooling and hot water.
IVB
Senior Member
one more thing in all seriousness; once SageTV takes over your life, you'll add more favorites, have a running backlog of shows, and never know what day shows are on again. We just watched the first 10 weeks of Lost, as we opted to wait until now so we could watch several in a row. We've yet to watch any of the Monk's, Psych, L&O. We have kinda kept up with CSI, and recorded a bunch of the awesome PBS-HD stuff.
Check out this SageTV poll.
50% of the SageTV folks have >2TB in their PC's, 80% are over 1TB. I would fully counsel you to expect the way you treat TV watching to change dramatically over the next 12-18 months as you 'internalize' the concept of timeshifting TV.
Check out this SageTV poll.
50% of the SageTV folks have >2TB in their PC's, 80% are over 1TB. I would fully counsel you to expect the way you treat TV watching to change dramatically over the next 12-18 months as you 'internalize' the concept of timeshifting TV.
Rupp
Senior Member
Yea. I'm just getting started and my wife and daughter are readers. My son is off to college so it's just me and you know where I spend my time
I'm only recording Hi-Def OTA right now and never rent movies so I guess I'm considered a "lite" user.