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Laptop power consumption and electricity cost
- Last Updated: February 23, 2023
A laptop consumes less power than a desktop computer.
Still, it is worth discovering how much electricity our laptops consume and how much we are paying for that electricity.
TABLE OF CONTENTS – QUICK NAVIGATION
1. How much power does a laptop use
1.1. How to calculate power from voltage and current
2. Laptop electricity cost calculator
2.1. How much does electricity cost
2.2. Home appliances and devices electricity calculators
3. Laptop electricity usage monitor
4. How to lower the electricity bill of a laptop
5. Laptop electricity usage FAQ
5.1. How much power does a laptop use
5.2. How many watts does a laptop charger use
5.3. How much electricity does a laptop charger use when left plugged in
5.4. How much electricity does a laptop use
5.5. How much electricity does a laptop use per hour
5.6. How much electricity does a laptop use in 24 hours
6. Electricity measurement units: Watt (W), Kilowatt (kW) and Kilowatt hour (kWh)
6.1. Electricity measurement units calculator
7. Laptop and energy conservation
How much power does a laptop use
The wattage of a laptop’s power adapter stands for the amount of power that the laptop is designed to consume. For example, in the picture below, the power adapter’s label specifies a power consumption of 130 W (Watts).
In some cases, it is possible to use power sources with lower wattage, but the laptop might have to take steps to compensate for the undersized power source.
An undersized power source may lead to slower battery charging, reduced CPU or GPU performance, or other side effects. So, using a lower-wattage power adapter to save on electricity may not be a good idea.
Note that the laptop’s power adapter will continue to draw power even while not connected to the laptop. But the power consumption will be very low, and the savings from powering off the adapter will be nearly negligible.
The picture above shows that our DELL laptop power adapter is rated at 130 Watts (W). This means it will consume 0,13 Kilowatt hours (kWh) for every hour of continuous usage.
130 W / 1000 = 0,13 kWh
Important note: Someone actively using the laptop for very demanding activities, for example, mining cryptocurrencies or playing sophisticated games, will have a much bigger electricity usage than someone using the laptop for browsing the internet or writing a word document.
If you want to know exactly how much power your laptop uses, below you will find details about using a plug-in power meter to measure the power consumption.
How to calculate power from voltage and current
If you only know the voltage and current of your laptop, 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.
Laptop electricity cost calculator
The calculator below can be used to estimate a laptop’s energy consumption and electricity cost.
You just 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 laptop’s adapter has a power rating of 110 Watts
> If you use the laptop 8 hours a day for 320 days per year
> If you are paying 0,2 euros (or dollars or pounds) per every kWh you consume
You will be paying around 61 euros (or dollars, 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.
Alternatively, if you don’t have access to your contract or your electricity bills, this website does show 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:
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Laptop electricity usage monitor
If you want to know the exact electricity usage of a laptop, your best option is to use a plug-in power meter to measure the exact power consumption and electricity cost.
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.
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.
Have a look at this YouTube video for more information.
How to lower the electricity bill of a laptop
A laptop does not use that much electricity, but we can reduce electricity usage even further but following some good practices
1.- Adjust the energy settings
If not in use, ensure your laptop goes to sleep mode within a reasonable time. We have our laptops set up to sleep after 10 minutes of inactivity.
Additionally, you may want your laptop to turn off the screen after a few minutes of inactivity.
2.- Quit or uninstall unnecessary programs
Most computer programs use CPU, GPU, RAM, and Hard drives. Especially those programs that use a significant amount of CPU or GPU will significantly increase electricity usage.
And that is about it… if your laptop is set up to go to sleep, turns off the screen during inactivity, and is not running any power-consuming computer programs, it will not use that much electricity.
Laptop electricity usage FAQ
How much power does a laptop use?
It depends on the laptop model and characteristics.
The power consumption in Watts will be written on the laptop charger.
How many watts does a laptop charger use?
Same answer as to the question above.
It depends on the laptop model and characteristics.
The power consumption in Watts will be written on the laptop charger.
How much electricity does a laptop charger use when left plugged in?
A laptop charger will continue to draw power even while not connected to the laptop.
But the power consumption will be very low, and the savings from unplugging the adapter will be nearly negligible.
How much electricity does a laptop use?
It depends on the laptop model and characteristics.
The power consumption in Watts will be written on the laptop charger.
Once you know the power usage, you can use the ‘Electricity cost calculator’ calculator to estimate the electricity usage and cost.
How much electricity does a laptop use per hour?
The electricity usage and electricity cost per hour are very low.
If you know the power usage, you can use the ‘Electricity cost calculator’ calculator to estimate the electricity usage and cost.
For 130 Watts and a cost of 21 cents per kWh, a laptop will spend 0,028 cents of electricity per day.
The electricity usage and electricity cost per hour are very low.
How much electricity does a laptop use in 24 hours?
It depends on the laptop model and characteristics.
The power consumption in Watts will be written on the laptop charger.
Once you know the power usage, you can use the ‘Electricity cost calculator’ calculator to estimate the electricity usage and cost.
For 130 Watts and a cost of 21 cents per kWh, a laptop will spend 0,028 cents of electricity per day.
Electricity measurement units
Not everybody is familiar with terms like Watts, Kilowatts, or Kilowatt hours so if you would learn more about them, have a look at this YouTube video that we have prepared about this topic.
Electricity measurement units calculators
Or you can have a look to these electricity measurement units calculators to get a better understanding of:
> What is a Watt (W), and how to transform Watts into Kilowatts
> What is a Kilowatt (kW), and how to transform Kilowatts into Kilowatts hour
> What is a Kilowatt hour (kWh), and how to transform Kilowatts hours to other units
> What are Power (P), Voltage (V), and Current (I)
Laptops and energy conservation
Energy conservation can be defined as the decision and the act of using less energy.
Energy conservation both benefit you and the environment
The act of saving and conserving electricity does benefit you because you will be paying less for your energy bills.
And it also benefits the environment because conserving electricity prevents unnecessary waste of natural resources.
At the individual level, it may not look worth trying to save a few watts here or there.
Still, every little one counts, and if hundreds or thousands of us save a little every time, it will make an important contribution towards conserving our natural resources.
Energy conservation calculator
Reducing our laptop’s electricity usage, even a very small amount, would greatly impact preserving our natural resources.
For example, if 9000 households save as little as 10 Watts per day (0,01 kWh) on the laptop’s 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, pounds, or any other currency) per kWh, we would collectively save nearly 6000 euros annually.
> 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.
Look at this page for more information about the resources needed to produce electricity.
In any case, small energy savings do count when looking into the bigger picture.
Proven ways to save electricity at home
Suppose you are looking for ideas to save electricity at home; look at this YouTube video. We show some useful tips for reducing electricity usage at home and decreasing the electricity bill.
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