How Much Does It Cost to Run a Home Server or NAS in the UK? (2026)

A network-attached storage box runs 24 hours a day, so even a modest 40 watt draw adds up to 350 kWh a year. Repurposed desktop PCs used as servers can use three times that.

A typical home server or NAS (40 W) costs £0.011 per hour, or about £7.58 per month at 24 hours a day in the UK. Average running cost

Electricity price region

Hours used per day

Wattage	Per hour	Per day	Per month	Per year
Low 15 W	£0.004	£0.095	£2.84	£34.58
Typical 40 W	£0.011	£0.25	£7.58	£92.23
High 150 W	£0.039	£0.95	£28.43	£345.84

Formula: watts ÷ 1000 × hours × price per kWh. Typical use is 24 h/day ≈ 350 kWh per year.

One day of a home server or NAS (0.96 kWh) is the same electricity as

5.3km in an electric car
9.6hours of TV
21hours of a laptop
107hours of an LED bulb

Electricity per year at typical use, on a log scale: #62 of 95 appliances, from least to most.

In the UK, with electricity at 26.3p per kWh (source: Ofgem price cap 1 Oct–31 Dec 2026, 2026-10), a typical home server or nas costs £0.011 per hour and about £92.23 per year at 24 hours a day. Each £1.00 of electricity buys roughly 95.0 hours of use.

How to lower the cost of running a home server or NAS

Enable disk spin-down for drives that are rarely accessed.
Choose low-power hardware. A purpose-built NAS uses a fraction of an old desktop.
Consolidate services onto one box rather than running several.

Frequently asked questions

How much does it cost to run a NAS 24/7?

At 40 watts, about 29 kWh a month. Pick your region above for the cost.

Does a NAS use a lot of electricity?

Not per hour, but continuous operation makes it one of the larger always-on loads in a home.

Is a Raspberry Pi cheaper to run as a server?

Far cheaper, at 3 to 6 watts, but with much less storage and performance.

Cost by region

US states

Canadian provinces

Related appliances

Use the generic electricity cost calculator · Which uses more? Take the quiz