Server Electricity Cost

Method, assumptions and limits

Energy per month = [active watts × active hours + idle watts × (24 − active hours)] × operating days / 1,000 × additional energy multiplier. Cost = energy × electricity price + the fixed fee you allocate to this machine. The annual figure repeats the modeled month 12 times rather than extrapolating a measured calendar year.

Use whole-system wall-plug measurements where possible. A GPU power rating or PSU wattage is not an average system measurement. Do not add a cooling or UPS multiplier for energy already in the measurement. The machine is assumed off on days outside the entered schedule.

The default 120 W idle / 550 W active, eight-hour workload across 30 days uses 189.6 kWh and costs $35.19 at the illustrative $0.1856/kWh rate. $24.50 is active energy and $10.69 is idle energy before separately entered fees.

The optional off-hours scenario keeps active work and fees unchanged, sets off-hours draw to zero and removes idle energy only. It is not a recommendation to stop a service that needs to stay online. Wake-up delays, startup energy, standby power, tariff time bands, peak charges and hardware wear are excluded. No cost is labeled inherently high or low.

Source and assumptions

EIA: measuring electricity explains watts, kilowatts and energy over time. Method reviewed 11 September 2026. The tariff and power presets are editable examples, not current national averages or device benchmarks. Use your bill and meter for a purchase or operating decision.