Add-In: Windows Home Server Power Saving
Blogger Albert Griscti-Soler was after a way to to put his Windows Home server into standby or hybernation from 2am to 5pm (weekends excluded) to save 60% of his electricity bill but could not find an easy way to do it….until now!
Albert has written an add-in that enables the task to be completed easily. Once installed the Power Saving tab can be accessed via the settings menu within the console. Here you have the choice to use standby, hibernation (if you’ve enabled it on your system) or to disable the power savings; additionally you can specify the ‘bed-time’ schedule, the time when Home Server will be “sleeping”. The first time you enable ‘Power Saving’, you will need to provide authorization (i.e. username and password) since the Task Manager requires a valid account in order to run the scheduled tasks.
More info and the download are available from runtime360.com.
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This is on the website… it’s a pity!
* Update / Note *
Over the course of the afternoon I’ve noticed that WHS likes to wake up of it’s own accord to perform some task at regular intervals, I’ll need to investigate further, so I’ve withdrawn the link.
I just schedule a batch file with a shutdown.exe command to close down my WHS, then use the BIOS to wake the computer at the desired time. Works nicely for months now.
WHS keeps itself very busy. I don’t think sleep or hibernation are viable, not without sacrificing things that WHS needs to do. It schedules chkdsk every 12 hours (sometimes every 6) and is always looking for things to migrate. From my perception it is not the place to try to save energy. When I last measure the power consumption of my server it hovered around 75 Watts. When I get around to buying an 80 Plus power supply I’ll measure again.
Doesn’t this defeat part of the purpose of WHS? I often find when I am at work or traveling I need to access files on my WHS and use the web interface to do so. If the system is asleep, then I guess you are going to be out of luck trying to access anything.
While I applaud the energy saving efforts, I think that better savings could be achieved with less interruption to work by using eco-friendly power supplies and processors.
Hi all,
Thanks for your comments everyone.
Not to mention, the download links for the add-in no longer work — can’t download…
Hi Beenkster,
Reading the post above by michiel it looks like the developer has taken down the link whilst he sorts out some issues.
Hi Albert,
Great news. Head over to Albert’s site and email him if you would like to beta test.
I built a small computer indented for WHS (based on VIA C-7).
When I use it with WinXP, it would go to sleep taking only 6 Watts while a sleep, 36 Watts while working.
Regular Network probe (Not need for WOL packet) would awake it ready to work in 1sec.
When I installed WHS and set the “Sleep” it never goes to sleep using 36 Watt all the time.
Giving the electrical cost in my neck in the wood that makes 24/7 WHS running questionable.