There is no single reliable cost figure without two inputs: your Synology NAS’s average wall-power draw while streaming and your electricity price per kilowatt-hour (kWh). Calculate energy as average watts × hours ÷ 1,000, then multiply by your local rate. For a continuous stream, use 24 hours per day and 365 days per year.
Calculate the electricity cost
Measure the complete NAS at the wall while it is doing the work you plan to run: Docker, FFmpeg, the chosen video and audio settings, drives, and network activity. Then use the matching period and your electricity tariff.
| Period | Energy calculation | Cost calculation |
|---|---|---|
| One day | Average watts × 24 ÷ 1,000 = kWh per day | kWh per day × local price per kWh |
| 30-day month | Average watts × 24 × 30 ÷ 1,000 = kWh per 30 days | kWh per 30 days × local price per kWh |
| 365-day year | Average watts × 24 × 365 ÷ 1,000 = kWh per year | kWh per year × local price per kWh |
These are unit conversions, not a benchmark or a prediction of your bill. Include the tariff’s currency and whether it is per kWh when you report a result. A plug-in electricity monitor can help establish the NAS’s wall draw over a representative streaming period; it does not by itself establish stream quality or a guaranteed cost.
Why a published NAS wattage is not your stream’s cost
Synology’s DS923+ product page lists 35.51 watts (Access) and 11.52 watts (HDD Hibernation) as model-specific power figures. They are reference points for those stated conditions, not a measurement of a DS923+ encoding and streaming continuously, and not figures for every Synology NAS. Synology cautions that performance specifications can vary with configuration, deployment, and active operations. Synology DS923+ specifications.
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Your actual draw depends on the NAS model, installed drives and their activity, other system workload, and FFmpeg’s processing requirements. FFmpeg demand can change with the source video, resolution, frame rate, filters, and encoding settings. The available documentation does not establish the power draw or encoding performance of an unspecified Synology model and container build.
As one model-specific hardware example, Synology’s DS923+ specifications, last updated July 7, 2025, list an AMD Ryzen R1600 with two CPU cores and 4 GB of preinstalled RAM. Those details should not be generalized to other NAS models. DS923+ product specifications PDF.
Rank #2
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What Docker and FFmpeg change—and what they do not
Docker is the way you package and run the workload; it does not provide a separate electricity-cost figure. For the bill calculation, the relevant number is the whole NAS’s average wall draw while the intended stream is running.
FFmpeg can read live inputs and can use x264 for H.264 when built with that support. Its documentation also describes benchmarking options, but documentation is not a benchmark of your NAS. Check the FFmpeg build inside your container and measure the complete setup under representative settings. If you want hardware video encoding, do not assume it is available just because the NAS has a video device: access to the device must be permitted for the application, and community packaging guidance about service-user or videodriver group permissions is not a guarantee that every NAS can hardware-encode your chosen stream. FFmpeg documentation · SynoCommunity FAQ.
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Set up the calculation for your own NAS
- Run the intended workload. Use the actual Docker container, video, FFmpeg filters, resolution, frame rate, and encoding approach you expect to keep online. A measurement taken while the drives are idle or FFmpeg is not processing will not represent that workload.
- Measure average wall watts over a representative period. A wall-power monitor can capture the NAS and its installed drives together. Record the measurement period and avoid treating a brief peak or idle reading as the 24/7 average.
- Find your electricity rate. Use the applicable price per kWh for your location and billing arrangement. If the rate varies by time, use a representative weighted rate or calculate separate time periods.
- Apply the matching formula. Convert watts to kWh for a day, 30-day month, or 365-day year using the table, then multiply by the rate. State both the measured average watts and the tariff alongside the total so the estimate can be checked.
Keep the YouTube stream and archive limits in mind
YouTube’s encoder setup uses a Live server URL and stream key. Enter those in the encoder or FFmpeg configuration as appropriate; treat the stream key as a password and do not publish it in a command screenshot, configuration file, or support post. YouTube Help: Set up a live stream encoder.
YouTube Help says, “All streams under 12 hours will be automatically archived.” Do not assume that one continuous 24-hour event will be automatically archived as a single recording. Plan for the platform’s stated under-12-hour rule when deciding how to divide or preserve long-running broadcasts. YouTube Help: Archive live streams.
Rank #4
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Troubleshooting the estimate
- Your result seems implausibly low: confirm that the monitor measured the entire NAS during active streaming, including drive activity, rather than an idle period or a partial device.
- Your measured watts vary: measure over a longer representative interval and use the average. Source complexity, filters, encoding choices, and drive activity can all change the workload.
- The stream cannot use hardware encoding: check the FFmpeg build and whether the container has permission to access the required video device. Permission guidance for one package is not proof of support on your specific NAS.
- Your archive is missing or incomplete: check whether the event exceeded YouTube’s stated 12-hour automatic-archive limit and plan the stream duration accordingly.
Or let it run in the cloud
If the goal is a continuous YouTube stream of uploaded videos, rather than a camera feed, StreamNeo is an alternative to keeping a NAS running at home. Upload a recording or build a playlist, add your YouTube stream key once, and go live; StreamNeo loops the uploaded video from the cloud. Nothing has to stay on at home. The same slot price applies at any uploaded quality up to 4K 60fps, without re-encoding or quality tiers; it also includes automatic recovery if YouTube drops the stream. The first day is free with no card.
Monthly pricing: $9.99 per month. See StreamNeo for service details, then start the free first day.
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