Calculating electricity costs

Everything Else
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Hi! Does anyone have a method for calculating the cost of electricity your Glowforge uses for a project? I would just like to include that in my costs when determining a selling price. I know that it will vary based on laser intensity, etc. but any type of methodology would be greatly appreciated.

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I’d suggest a kill-a-watt (or equivalent). It’s the best way to be sure.

http://www.p3international.com/products/p4400.html

You can figure out energy cost and then do the math for your local rates.

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Fairly minimal. More than a 50" flat panel TV, less than a toaster. Nothing like the stuff you would normally notice on your bill; air conditioners, electric furnace, electric stove, electric hot water heater, etc.

I’m not going to search the forum for the correct GF wattage when running but if I remember correctly it was something like 800 watts at full power, 300 watts idle. If I assumed 800 watts for 8 hours a day (which would be impossible) you still are only talking about $23 a month at what the electric company charges here. Less than a buck per day.

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Thank you - very helpful!

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As @rpegg stated fairly minimal, but you could ask your local electricity company if they have a gauge they can hook up to find the actual usage. My company as one and mine came out to about 2 cents a Kilowatt-hour when not in use and 4 cents when in use, so if you use for 12 hours a day, that’s about 24 to 50 cents per day, or about $7 to $15 a month.

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Also it’s a long shot but your local library might have a kill a watt to check out.

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I used the kill-a-watt suggested above and found that my Basic consumes less than $1 USD per hour (I turn it on and off as needed – so no parasitic load).

According to my CPA, the power cost + amortization of tube replacement across the estimated lifespan is less than $2 USD/hour, so I round up to $2/hour when figuring prices.

YMMV, of course.

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Here that’s $120/month :frowning:

'Course that’s one reason I’m building in NC and not gonna retire in CT. (But there are some idiots here who think CT can become the data center capital of the country - apparently unaware of what makes a data center go.)

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