https://homelab.tod.net/tags/power/Recent content in Power on Tod's HomelabHugoen-usSat, 27 Jun 2026 12:00:00 -0400https://homelab.tod.net/posts/did-the-rebuild-actually-save-power/Sat, 27 Jun 2026 12:00:00 -0400https://homelab.tod.net/posts/did-the-rebuild-actually-save-power/<p>In the <a href="https://homelab.tod.net/posts/why-im-replacing-a-homelab-that-still-works/">first post</a> I listed power as one of four reasons for retiring two 1U Supermicro servers in favour of two small Proxmox mini PCs. It was honestly one of the main ones. The old pair ran around the clock to do work that fits comfortably on a single modern node, and Maine has some of the highest residential electricity prices in the country.</p> <p>So: did it work? Did the rebuild actually save power?</p>https://homelab.tod.net/posts/why-im-replacing-a-homelab-that-still-works/Sat, 27 Jun 2026 09:00:00 -0400https://homelab.tod.net/posts/why-im-replacing-a-homelab-that-still-works/<p>For several years my homelab has run on two 1U Supermicro servers — <code>chimaera</code> and <code>basilisk</code> — paired together as an XCP-ng pool. Each has two Xeons, 128 GB of ECC RAM, dual 10-gigabit networking, and local disk. Between them they offer 24 cores, 48 threads, and 256 GB of RAM. They work. Nothing is failing. That is the part that makes a setup hard to walk away from.</p> <figure><img src="https://homelab.tod.net/posts/why-im-replacing-a-homelab-that-still-works/server-stack.jpg" alt="A stack of home server hardware: two 1U rackmount servers on top, two small mini PCs side by side in the middle, and a larger NAS chassis at the bottom."><figcaption> <p>Top to bottom: <code>chimaera</code> and <code>basilisk</code> (the 1U servers being retired), then <code>proxmox-mini01</code> (left) and <code>proxmox-mini02</code> (right), with the NAS underneath. The two small boxes in the middle are set to replace the two big ones above them.</p>