Limits of Idle Power on Raspberry Pi OS Lite for Low‑Traffic Workloads

Goal

Identify whether a Raspberry Pi running Raspberry Pi OS Lite in headless mode can stay idle long enough to justify an always‑on deployment for infrequent workloads, or if external power switching or an RTC‑based schedule is required to meet cost and energy targets.

Constraints & Uncertainty

Raspberry Pi hardware lacks a microcontroller‑style deep‑sleep mode; power draw is governed by the OS idle state and enabled peripherals. Disabling network interfaces and unnecessary services reduces consumption, but the exact savings vary by model and OS variant. External power switches or RTC‑based shutdown/boot cycles introduce additional hardware cost and potential SD‑card wear, yet may achieve lower overall energy use.

Open Questions

1. What is the measured idle power draw of a Raspberry Pi 4 running OS Lite headless with all optional peripherals disabled?

2. Does the cost of adding an external power switch or RTC for scheduled on/off cycles outweigh the savings from selecting a lower‑cost Pi model or reducing idle consumption?

3. Can scheduled shutdown and boot sequences be implemented reliably without risking SD‑card wear or data integrity in a low‑traffic deployment?