nvhost

Power usage of an always-on box

22 March 2026

A smart plug has been logging the homelab shelf since last March. The mini PC, a two-bay NAS and the switch average a little under 38 W together.

Numbers

That is roughly 330 kWh a year. At current unit rates it lands somewhere around the price of a modest streaming subscription, which is easier to justify than I expected.

The NAS spinning down its disks overnight saved more than any software tweak. The switch draws the same whatever you do.