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Cell phone power consumption and electricity cost

A cell phone uses very little power and electricity.

Still, it is good to know how much electricity a cell phone charger use and the electricity cost. 

How much power does a cell phone use?

If you want to know how much electricity is used to charge your phone, you need to measure the power consumption by using a plug in power meter.

In any case, the electricity consumption for charging a mobile phone is very low. 

cell phone power consumption

According to our plug-in power meter, even fully charged, our Samsung mobile phone continuously uses 2,8 Watts (W) while connected to the charger.

That means the mobile phone consumes 0,0028 Kilowatts per hour (kWh). 

2,8 W / 1000 = 0,0028 kWh

We are paying our electricity provider 0,217 euros per every Kilowatt hour (kWh) we consume, even while fully charged our Samsung phone consumes 0,0006 euros per hour.

0,0028 kWh x 0,217 euro per kWh = 0,0006 euro per hour

On the other side, if our mobile phone is charging, the cell phone charger continuously uses 11 Watts (W), or 0,011 Kilowatts hour (kWh). 

11 W / 1000 = 0,011 kWh

How to calculate power from voltage and current

If you only know the voltage and current of your cell phone, you can calculate the power consumption in Watts using the calculator below.

 

For more information about Power, Voltage and Current, scroll down to the ‘Electricity Measurement Units’ section.

Cell phone electricity cost calculator

Suppose you know the power consumption of your mobile phone charger. In that case, the calculator below can estimate the power consumption and the electricity cost of a portable phone charger over some time.

You need to adjust the values in the PARAMETERS section to your requirements, and the calculator will automatically display the RESULTS section.

 

For example:

> If your phone has a power rating of 13 Watts

> If it needs 6 hours to recharge your phone

> If you need to recharge your phone 50 times per year

> If you are paying 0,2 euros (or dollars or pounds) per every kWh you consume 

You will pay 4,68 euros (or dollars, or pounds, or…) per year in electricity costs.

How much does electricity cost

If you don’t know how much you are paying per kWh, you should be able to find the cost per kWh on your electricity contract or in one of the electricity bills.

how much does electricity cost

Alternatively, if you don’t have access to your contract or electricity bills, this website shows the electricity cost per country.

Home appliances and devices electricity calculators

Here are a few other examples from our ‘Electricity usage and electricity cost calculators‘ page that may be of your interest:

How to charger cell phones without electricity

If you are outdoors or there is a power outage, and your phone runs out of battery, here are some ways to keep your phone charged.

1.- Charge your cell phone with your laptop

Charge your phone by connecting it to your laptop USB port. It will take longer to get it charged, and eventually it will drain the laptop battery, but this is an option to consider in the case of an emergency.

As a tip, consider that a USB 2.0 port does deliver around 0.5 amps while a USB 3.0 port does deliver 0.9 amps. 

This is, the cell phone will charge faster when connected to a USB 3.0 

Most computers or laptops now come equipped with USB 3.0 ports. If your device has the letter ‘SS’ before the USB symbol, it is a USB 3.0 port. 

2.- Charge your phone with your car auxiliary power outlet

If you have a relatively new car, it will have a USB port that you can use to charge your phone. 

Alternatively, most cars do have a 12 Volts auxiliary power outlet, also called a cigarette lighter socket, to which it is possible to connect a USB adapter to generate electricity.

3.- Use a solar battery charger

Solar power banks are helpful to have gadgets for those who spend much time outdoors and want to be able to charge their phone or tablets.

4.- Charge your phone with a power bank

Power banks are not very expensive and can be used to charge your phone in case of need or emergency.

When choosing a power bank, you need to pay attention to the charge capacity, measured in milliampere hours (mAh). A 5,000 mAh power bank is enough to power a mobile phone, but it may not be enough to charge a tablet.

A 10,000 mAh power bank should be able to charge your mobile phone several times and your tablet.

Also, not that the higher the Amperes (A) of the output, the faster the power bank will be able to charge your devices.

5.- Conserve your remaining phone battery power

If you are running out of power and there is no way to charge your phone, here are a few tips to make the battery last longer.

> Reduce the screen brightness. The higher the intelligence, the more power it will be used while the phone is in use.

> Disable Bluetooth, as it consumes energy even while no Bluetooth devices are connected to the phone.

> Disable Wi-Fi

> Disable location services

> Enable airplane mode

> Enable low-power or power-saving modes

> Keep the phone and the battery cool.

How much electricity does a cell phone charger uses when left plugged in?

If the mobile phone is not connected, the charger does not use any electricity.

If you want to learn how to measure your mobile phone’s power consumption, you should look at this YouTube video, where we show how to use a plug-in power meter.

Plug in power meter

Clicking on the image below will redirect you to the Amazon page, where you can look at the specifications of the power meter we use for our measurements.

plug in power meter

All our house appliances and devices, like the washing machine, the dishwasher, the TV, or the printer, are plugged into a wall socket. 

So, with a power consumption meter, we can determine how much electricity our appliances or devices are using, and, more importantly, we can measure the electricity usage over time.

How many watts does a cell phone charger use?

It depends on the model, but the average is around 15 Watts.

How much electricity does a mobile charger use?

The electricity usage can be calculated by multiplying the power consumption (Watts) by how long the mobile charger is in use.

If a mobile charger has a power rating of 15 Watts and is in use for 3 hours daily, the mobile charger will use 15 x 3 = 45 Watts/hour per day.

Look at the ‘Electricity measurement unit’s section for more information about what a Watt, Kilowatt, or Kilowatt hour is and how they are used to calculate electricity usage and cost. 

Do phone chargers use electricity when not in use?

A phone charger does not use electricity when not in use.

Electricity measurement units

Not everybody is familiar with terms like Watts, Kilowatts, or Kilowatt hours, so if you want to learn more about them, look at this video that we have prepared for you.

What is a Kilowatt hour (kWh)

Electricity measurement units calculators

Or you can have a look at these electricity measurement units calculators to get a better understanding of:

> What is a Watt (W), and how do transform Watts into Kilowatts

> What is a Kilowatt (kW), and how to transform Kilowatts into Kilowatts an hour

> What is a Kilowatt hour (kWh), and how do transform Kilowatts hours into other units

> What are Power (P), Voltage (V), and Current (I)

Watt (W)
Watt (W) wattage calculator
Kilowatt (kW)
Kilowatt (kW) calculator
Kilowatt hour (kWh)
Kilowatt hour (kWh) calculator
Power, voltage, current
Power, voltage, current calculator

Cell phones and energy conservation

Energy conservation can be defined as the decision to use less energy.

Energy conservation both benefit you and the environment 

The act of saving and conserving electricity benefits you because you will pay less for your energy bills. 

And it also benefits the environment because conserving electricity prevents unnecessary waste of natural resources.

Now, at the individual level, it may not look worth trying to save a few watts here or there. 

Still, every little one count, and if hundreds or thousands of us save a little every time, it will contribute to conserving our natural resources.

Energy conservation calculator

If we could reduce the electricity usage of our cell phones, even a minimal amount, it would significantly impact preserving our natural resources.

 

For example, if 9000 households would save as little as 10 Watts per day (0,01 kWh) on cell phone electricity usage, that would add to 32850 Kilowatt hours (kWh) saved per year. 

9000 households x 0,01 kWh per day x 365 days per year 

32,850 kWh saved per year

That is a considerable amount of electricity, but let’s add additional perspectives for clarity:

> Assuming an average cost of 0,18 euros (or dollars, or pounds, or any other currency) per kWh, we would collectively be saving nearly 6000 euros per year.

> To produce 32,850 kWh of electricity, it is necessary to use around 17 metric tons of coal or 56 barrels of residual fuel oil.

Have a look at this page for more information about the number of resources needed to produce electricity.
 

In any case it is clear that small energy savings do count when looking into the bigger picture.

Proven ways to save electricity at home

If you are looking for ideas to save electricity at home, have a look at this YouTube video, where we show some useful tips to reduce electricity usage at home and decrease the electricity bill. 

How to save electricity at home
How to save
How to save
How to earn
How to earn

Calculators

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