IDK, after a week of runtime it told me 2.5kwh average. could be average per hour?

Highest power bill I ever saw was summer of 2022. $1800. temps outside were into to 110-120 range and was the hottest ever here.

maybe I’ll hook it back up, but I’ve got different (newer) hardware now.

sounds like you want a rpi-zero Ethernet gadget.

I made one years ago that pretended to be an Ethernet adapter as soon as you plugged it into your USB port.

it would boot, connect to WiFi, then connect to VPN, and the laptop it was plugged into would then use that as the primary network source as if it was connected to a lan.

downsides:

• WiFi sucks and I only saw ~ 250mb connections
• USB is slow capped at 450mb

but it does work in a pinch.

I think RPI A and B were gadget capable but they dropped support after rpi2 was released.

don’t forget you’re going to need to setup the proper routing tables and install a DHCP server(maybe…might be able to do static routing but I found it easier to just install dnsmasq).

last I checked with a kill-a-watt I was drawing an average of 2.5kWh after a week of monitoring my whole rack. that was about three years ago and the following was running in my rack.

• r610 dual 1kw PSU
• homebuilt server Gigabyte 750w PSU
• homebuilt Asus gaming rig 650w PSU
• homebuilt Asus retro(xp) gaming/testing rig 350w PSU
• HP laptop as dev env/warmsite ~ 200w PSU
• Amcrest NVR 80w (I guess?)
• HP T610 65w PSU
• Terramaster F5-422 90w PSU
• TP-Link TL-SG2424P 180w PSU
• Brocade ICX6610-48P-E dual dual 1kw PSU
• Misc routers, rpis, poe aps, modems(cable & 5G) ~ 700w combined (cameras not included, brocade powers them directly)

I also have two battery systems split between high priority and low priority infrastructure.