Electricity cost of Dahua NVR vs PC?

[randytsuch]

So I have ordered one Dahua camera (DH-IPC-HFW4431R-Z) to learn on, and was planning to throw together a PC to use as the NVR.
I have the parts lying around for a haswell system, although only a dual core processor that probably needs to be upgraded.
I was also looking at buying a reconditioned Dell optiplex.

For the load, I'll probably run something like six 4mp cameras at most, probably starting with 4.
I was going to try running the free milestone software, seems like it is less processor intensive than BI, and free is good

Now I'm wondering if I would be better off with a Dahua NVR, considering electricity costs.

I think my cost for electricity is 21 cents a kw-hour.

I figured a 100w difference in power will cost my $184 a year, enough to make me reconsider this.

Has anybody looked a electricity consumption of a I5 or I7 PC versus a NVR?

Thanks
Randy

 

[fenderman]

So I have ordered one Dahua camera (DH-IPC-HFW4431R-Z) to learn on, and was planning to throw together a PC to use as the NVR.
I have the parts lying around for a haswell system, although only a dual core processor that probably needs to be upgraded.
I was also looking at buying a reconditioned Dell optiplex.

For the load, I'll probably run something like six 4mp cameras at most, probably starting with 4.
I was going to try running the free milestone software, seems like it is less processor intensive than BI, and free is good

Now I'm wondering if I would be better off with a Dahua NVR, considering electricity costs.

I think my cost for electricity is 21 cents a kw-hour.

I figured a 100w difference in power will cost my $184 a year, enough to make me reconsider this.

Has anybody looked a electricity consumption of a I5 or I7 PC versus a NVR?

Thanks
Randy

Your pc power calculations are way off...see this sample
https://www.ipcamtalk.com/showthread.php/5696-PC-NVR-Power-Consumption-Sample?highlight=consumption

 

[randytsuch]

Thanks for the link. The 100w was just a guess, so looks like it was way off.

Randy

 

[jasauders]

I wouldn't be surprised if the PC route tends to use more than an NVR, but I wouldn't anticipate it being a monumental difference unless you're packing some power hog CPUs in the server. I haven't exactly done NVR vs PC-NVR power consumption tests to know for sure, though.

While I can't offer specifics about this vs that in regard to what you're asking, I do however try to stay on the greener side of things whenever possible. Just for frame of reference, I just checked the current stats on my UPS. My UPS is seeing an 83w draw as we speak. On that UPS is:

1) 8 port gigabit POE switch. Plugged into this switch are six 3mpx POE cameras (4x EyeSurv/Dahua, 2x Hikvision).
2) 24 port gigabit switch, which serves the rest of the non-CCTV LAN in the house.
3) The server itself.

The server is a dual purpose box. It's my NAS, which is configured to use one stack of drives, and also my NVR, which uses a dedicated CCTV drive. Server stats are as follows:

i3 3220T
8GB RAM
4x 3TB WD Red (NAS)
1x 2TB WD Purple (CCTV)
1x 60GB SSD for OS + Software etc

The server runs Ubuntu Server with Bluecherry for video tasks. The cameras are configured to record 24/7. Current load is 'load average: 0.02, 0.04, 0.04', so it's nearly asleep, even while sustaining these tasks. If I kicked on motion detect, the load (and thus the power consumption) would rise a bit, but at the moment with my current configuration, this is the draw I'm looking at. Not too shabby given it's the box itself with five spinning drives + one SSD, two switches, and six cameras. If nothing else, just an example of a PC-NVR running in the wild.

 

[Tsikura]

-snip-

wow. You run all that on an i3? I see 35W is the TDP on that bad boy. So I could expect to run around 50-70W with an i7-6700T which also has a 35W tdp. I won't be running so many drives and only 1 8-port poe switch.

 

[nayr]

I'm under 20W total on my Dahua NVR w/2 HDD's

 

[jasauders]

wow. You run all that on an i3? I see 35W is the TDP on that bad boy. So I could expect to run around 50-70W with an i7-6700T which also has a 35W tdp. I won't be running so many drives and only 1 8-port poe switch.

Yeah. It's a several-year-old i3 at that, but like I mentioned above with my load average, it's far from breaking a sweat. Ubuntu Server doesn't take many resources to run, and Bluecherry is very light compared to most other PC-NVR programs I've seen. All of that + continual record (no need for the system to punch through a motion detect algorithm) and, there you have it. This of course gets a little more sticky and inconsistent as you begin to swap in different software and hardware, so results will be relative to how you build things out.

 

[randytsuch]

Yeah. It's a several-year-old i3 at that, but like I mentioned above with my load average, it's far from breaking a sweat. Ubuntu Server doesn't take many resources to run, and Bluecherry is very light compared to most other PC-NVR programs I've seen. All of that + continual record (no need for the system to punch through a motion detect algorithm) and, there you have it. This of course gets a little more sticky and inconsistent as you begin to swap in different software and hardware, so results will be relative to how you build things out.

But you have to mess with Linux . I know enough linux to be dangerous lol.
Otherwise, it would be great.

Nayr
Interesting. I just bought a poe switch from ebay, and looks like a dahua nvr without poe is pretty cheap, so I'm starting to rethink NVR versus PC. But I have the parts to make a PC so I'll go ahead and try the PC first.

 

[jasauders]

But you have to mess with Linux . I know enough linux to be dangerous lol.
Otherwise, it would be great.

All depends on your angle. For me, Linux was a requirement. Bluecherry in particular is pretty easy. Install Ubuntu Server 14.04 or regular Ubuntu 14.04 with the graphical interface, add a PPA, install Bluecherry. Overall it's 2-3 commands they provide you on their web site, so it's a matter of copying/pasting those few lines post-install. Or you can simply download their own respin, which is Ubuntu 14.04 with Bluecherry already installed. It comes as an ISO, so dump that on the box and... bingo.

Now if we would shift gears and discuss something like ZoneMinder... yeah... you got me there. Lots of config files to fine tune, databases to set up, users to configure, etc.

Just my 2c, but if you have the parts to try the PC route and that's where your vested interest is, Bluecherry has a free 30 day demo. Spin it up and see. Or get an NVR and repurpose the PC for other tasks. Got a HTPC? Turn it into a home file server? No shortage of options.

 

[fenderman]

FYI, blue cherry does not have a mobile client to review recorded video...you will be better off with milestone, which is free for 8 cams...

 

[jasauders]

Correct - no mobile client yet. Works great with TinyCam, though, as well as IPCamViewer for live view (though I have a preference with TinyCam personally). I actually never gave playback of recordings a thought when on mobile devices, but if I'm going to a location where wifi will be available, laptop is always in tow.

I actually have an old 10" tablet on my nightstand with TinyCam. Makes for a quick glimpse to see what's going on or what the kids are up to throughout the night.

 

[fenderman]

Correct - no mobile client yet. Works great with TinyCam, though, as well as IPCamViewer for live view (though I have a preference with TinyCam personally). I actually never gave playback of recordings a thought when on mobile devices, but if I'm going to a location where wifi will be available, laptop is always in tow.

I actually have an old 10" tablet on my nightstand with TinyCam. Makes for a quick glimpse to see what's going on or what the kids are up to throughout the night.

I am always looking at recorded video..very rarely live...most of us dont tow laptops with us...

 

[jasauders]

I am always looking at recorded video..very rarely live...most of us dont tow laptops with us...

Different strokes. I have six cams recording 24/7, so it's not exactly my first thought to go back to recorded video. More times than not it's wondering if my wife is home (is her car in the driveway) or whether my package was delivered (is there a box at the door). If I'm going away for some time (a trip or something), laptop always comes with -- always has (makes for a nice larger screen to review family pictures being taken, etc). Everyone's mileage varies.

 

[nayr]

I am always looking at recorded video..very rarely live...most of us dont tow laptops with us...

same, I mostly view house sitter coming and going; but not in realtime.. just double checking pets are taken care of.. then viewing any alarms that went off and checking the cat door to make sure the cats are accounted for since they wont appear for a sitter on demand.. all recorded video.. not only do I check the package came I watch the guy deliver it.. my packages are hidden inside a box on my porch, so looking in realtime is mostly useless.. but it triggers a recording that is easy to playback or get pushed if I want.. still record continuously however.

If I am on vacation the laptop does not follow or else work will..

 

[CaliGirl]

Less then 50 watts for me running Dahua NVR, 4 cameras on POE ports, POE+ injector powering PTZ camera, wireless router, cable modem.

 

[randytsuch]

One of my wife's requirements is to be able to review video on her phone. Since we haven't had a camera system before, don't know if we will really use it or not, but it sounds cool lol.

And since this is on 24/7, nice to know it won't use that much power for the entire system.

Randy

 

[AlpineWatch]

FWIW as I don't have everything on either of my NVR's yet.

Strictly NVR power consumption:
Dahua 4108-P with 3TB WD purple drive, recording motion only from one Dahua camera not powered by the NVR = 10W

HP Elitedesk with an I5-4690, 8GB ram, 4TB purple drive, running Win7 Pro and Milestone Essentials and recording 24/7 from 2 qty Hik cameras powered by a separate poe switch = 15W.

 

[logbuilder]

The server runs Ubuntu Server with Bluecherry for video tasks.

I've used bluecherry products in the past but recently had problems dealing with Curtis and won't return. Glad it is working out for you.