Comments on: TiVo Energy Usage (How Much Does It Cost To Run A TiVo)?

By: Anon

Anon — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 15:32:04 +0000

In NYC, my last bill, with service fees and taxes and everything (dividing total bill amount by number of kilowatt hours), I am paying a little over 33 cents per kilowatt (it came down a little bit from last month). That’s $116 per year. Plus the cost of the device. Plus the subscription cost. No thanks.

By: Dave

Dave — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 05:33:55 +0000

“”In CT, I’m paying about .23 kwh in Dec 2008.”"

That’s an obscene rate. Here in Wisconsin/Illinois we pay around 6 cents a kwh taxes and all.

Dave

By: bc-ct

bc-ct — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 16:10:45 +0000

.04 kwh is not the true cost. You must add in distribution, tax, etc. Divide your total monthly bill by the total kwh and that will give you a truer cost. In CT, I’m paying about .23 kwh in Dec 2008. My tivo 2 runs at 40 watts all day long, 24×365x.23 is about $80 year. I’m now looking for alternatives.

By: Deaf Touch

Deaf Touch — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 18:55:45 +0000

4 cents a KWH? Where do you live? I’m moving there.

By: Alex

Alex — Sat, 04 Feb 2006 00:53:07 +0000

Here’s an email that I received from Brian. I thought I would share it with everybody:

Hello,
Your article on TiVo energy usage intrigued me, and it’s something that I have also wondered about. I recently purchased a device call a Kill-A-Watt, which is an electric meter specifically for measuring this type of thing. I ran a few quick tests, and here’s what I got on my Series2 TiVo unit:

- Startup: There was a 1 second peak at 40W a few seconds after starting, but then it went down and fluctuated around 24-28W
- Running “idle” (not recording): 28-29W
- Recording: 28-29W

I did not notice any significant changes while navigating menus, looking up program information, etc…

The 40W listed on the power supply and in the specs is most likely the maximum usage, but during normal use it should not be at maximum. Individual units may vary slightly in their readings.

By: TiVoCult : How much does your Tivo Cost to Run?

TiVoCult : How much does your Tivo Cost to Run? — Fri, 27 Jan 2006 18:22:30 +0000

[...] How much does your Tivo Cost to Run? I found this on the TiVo blog today and found it kind of interesting that it costs $14.38 a year to have my TiVo running all the time. Dosn’t seem like to bad of a deal to me. If you want to get all the info head on over to TiVoBlog.com.Loom001 Published Friday, January 27, 2006 5:19 PM by loom001 [...]

By: Jim Wesnor

Jim Wesnor — Thu, 26 Jan 2006 18:40:38 +0000

The back-panel rating is very conserative. I’d probably guess that the current draw is 0.1-0.2 amps, more when the system is recording. You’d need to use a time-weighted average, so’d it probably be 0.125 amps, or about 15 watts.

At 8c/kWh, it’s about $10-11 per year.

By: =) Bnpositive’s Blog » Calculating Costs of Running Appliances

=) Bnpositive’s Blog » Calculating Costs of Running Appliances — Thu, 26 Jan 2006 15:08:58 +0000

[...] I’m such a tight-wad when it comes to certain things. One of my pet peeves is walking through the house and seeing lights and TV’s on in rooms that nobody is using. I recently stumbled on this site, thanks to the TiVoBlog folks, that gives you a formula for figuring out how much it costs to run the various items in your house. Obviously their concern was for their TiVo. [...]

By: Jonathan Schalliol

Jonathan Schalliol — Thu, 26 Jan 2006 15:08:23 +0000

My 80-Hour Humax TiVo’s specs say 40W, which seems really low, but that’s what it says! http://www.humaxusa.com/products_T800_80.html If I correctly calculated through their formula, that’s right at $50/year. Way less than my desktop computer would cost, which is on 24/7 as well.