Mac Mini - Late '09 - Power Consumption

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Mac Mini - Late '09 - Power Consumption

Hey guys, this is my first post here 🙂 Seems like a great forum.

I got my first Mac the other week, and I'm really enjoying it.

As I like to try and conserve electricity, I was wondering, if I were to put my Mac Mini to sleep at night rather than shutting it down and starting it up the next day, would I save electricity leaving it sleeping? Like, would it use more power to boot up than to be in sleep for 10-12 hours? Any input would be appreciated 🙂

Thanks, D.

Mac Mini - Late '09, Mac OS X (10.6.2)

Posted on Jan 16, 2010 7:42 PM

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Answer 1

Dah•veed

Level 9

64,633 points

Jan 16, 2010 10:09 PM in response to DJW997

Welcome to the Apple Discussions!

Your Mac mini uses very little power while it is sleeping.

Dah•veed

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Answer 2

DJW997 Author

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Jan 17, 2010 4:55 PM in response to Dah•veed

Thanks for your reply - I understand it will use less energy than it would whilst running normally, but i'm just curious as to how much less.

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Answer 3

kguy

Level 2

420 points

Jan 17, 2010 6:25 PM in response to DJW997

Hi-

3 watts while sleeping, 13 watts while idling.

35 watts peak while booting up from cold start.

Your mileage may vary.

Message was edited by: kguy

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Answer 4

DJW997 Author

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Jan 17, 2010 6:25 PM in response to kguy

Great, thanks for that reply. Do you know if it would work out less to leave it sleeping for 10-12 hours than boot the machine up?

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Answer 5

kguy

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420 points

Jan 17, 2010 6:28 PM in response to DJW997

Based on those numbers, If you will not use the mini for longer than say 12 hours, you will probably save electricity by shutting down.

But then again, there are other variables associated with the lifespan of components with many power cycling ups and downs.

Probably not a problem either way or the other, but if you are trying to save money, you already made a good choice with picking the mini- this thing is pretty good with sleep power consumption.

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Answer 6

DJW997 Author

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Jan 17, 2010 6:30 PM in response to kguy

Pretty much hit the nail on the head there. Thankyou kguy 🙂 Thanks guys for both your inputs.

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