To save money on energy bills, you can reduce the power consumption of your home lab by making a few simple changes. I’ve learned this the hard way, having spent hundreds of dollars on energy costs in my early tinkering days.
Firstly, replacing old systems with energy-efficient devices can make a big difference. Arm-based Single-Board Computers (SBCs) like Intel N100 mini-PCs are great for container-heavy tasks and consume very little power when idle.
Using solid-state drives (SSDs) instead of hard disk drives (HDDs) can also help reduce power consumption. While I still use HDDs with my NAS systems, I’ve noticed that they guzzle a lot of energy.
Another way to cut down on power usage is by enabling Wake-on-LAN (WOL) and putting non-essential servers to sleep when not in use. This feature allows you to wake up your servers remotely using a laptop or even a Home Assistant container.
Configuring C-States can also help reduce power consumption by throttling down the CPU when it’s idle. Many modern operating systems, including Proxmox, allow you to modify the CPU scaling governor to activate specific energy-saving modes.
Finally, using high-quality PSUs with high efficiency badges and reducing the number of nodes in your home lab can also help lower energy costs.
By implementing these simple changes, you can slash your home lab’s power consumption and save money on energy bills.
Source: https://www.xda-developers.com/i-run-my-home-lab-247-and-i-havent-gone-bankrupt-thanks-to-these-4-tweaks