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Router power consumption and electricity cost
- Last Updated: February 24, 2023
The routers are continuously connected to power and consume electricity.
If you have an old Wi-Fi router, you should find out its energy usage as it may be more economical to buy a newer and more efficient model.
TABLE OF CONTENTS – QUICK NAVIGATION
1. How much power and electricity does a router use
1.1. How to calculate power from voltage and current
2. Router electricity cost calculator
2.1. How much does electricity cost
2.2. Home appliances and devices calculator
3. Router electricity usage monitor
4. How to lower the electricity bill or a router
5. Router electricity usage FAQ
5.1. How much power does a router use
5.2. How much energy does a router use
5.3. Does a wifi router use much electricity
6. Electricity measurement units: Watt (W), Kilowatt (kW) and Kilowatt hour (kWh)
6.1. Electricity measurement units calculator
7. Routers and energy conservation
How much power and electricity does a router use
In the picture below, you can see a Wi-Fi router that was purchased 5 years ago.
It consumes 31,25 Watts per hour, while the more modern routers consume around 10 Watts per hour.
Let’s run some calculations to determine the electricity usage and cost of our 31,25 Watts Wi-Fi router.
12,5 Volts (V) x 2,5 Amps (A) = an electricity usage of 31,25 Watts hour (Wh)
31,25 Wh / 1000 = an electricity usage of 0,03125 Kilowatts hour (kWh)
0,03125 kWh x 24 hours = an electricity usage of 0,75 Kilowatts hour per day
We pay our electricity provider 0,217 euros for every Kilowatt hour we consume. So, this is how much it is costing us on electricity to run our router:
0,75 kWh per day x 0,217 euro = 0,162 euro per day
0,162 euro per day x 365 days per year = 59,4 euro per year
This is a considerable electricity cost for a Wi-Fi router, so it would be worth it for us to change to a newer and more efficient Wi-Fi router…
31,25 watts router = 59,4 euros per year in electricity costs
10 watts router = 19 euros per year in electricity costs
How to calculate power from voltage and current
If you only know the voltage and current of your router, 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.
Router electricity cost calculator
If on your router’s specifications label, only the Voltage (V) and Amperage (A) are displayed, this calculator can be used to calculate the Power (P) consumption.
The Power (P) consumption is needed to make further calculations.
Once you know the power consumption in Watts (W) and how much you pay your electricity provider for every kilowatt hour (kWh) you consume, you can use this calculator to estimate the electricity usage and the electricity cost.
For example:
> A 40 Watts router, connected to power the whole year and with an electricity cost of 0,217 euros per kWh, would add around 76 euros to our electricity bill.
> A 15 Watts router, connected to power the whole year and with an electricity cost of 0,217 euros per kWh, would add around 28,5 euros to our electricity bill.
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 electricity bills, this website shows the electricity cost per country.
Home appliances and devices electricity calculators
A few other examples from our ‘Electricity usage and electricity cost calculators‘ page that may be of your interest:
Router electricity usage monitor
If you want to know the exact electricity usage of a router, 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 it will redirect you to the Amazon page, where you can have a 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.
If you want to find out how you can use a plug-in power meter to measure your electricity usage and electricity cost, have a look at this YouTube video.
How to lower the electricity bill of a router
Well, by now you should have come to the conclusion that the most effective method to save electricity is to buy an efficient wi-fi router.
Of course, if you are planning to go for a long vacation you should power off your router and that would save you some electricity and money.
It may not be a huge saving but every little counts. If each one of use do switch off our routers two or three weeks per year, collectively it may add to a significant amount of electricity being saved.
Router electricity usage FAQ
How much power does a router use?
A router uses between 2 and 20 Watts per hour.
How much energy does a router use?
Power and energy refer to the same term.
A router uses between 2 and 20 Watts per hour.
Does a wifi router use much electricity?
No, the power consumption of a router is very low so they don’t use much electricity.
You can use the calculator from the ‘ Electricity cost calculator’ section to calculate a router’s electricity usage and cost.
Electricity measurement units
Not everybody is familiar with terms like Watts, Kilowatts, or Kilowatt hours, so if you would like to learn more about them, look at this YouTube video we have prepared about this topic.
Electricity measurement units calculators
Or you can have a look at this 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 into other units
> What are Power (P), Voltage (V), and Current (I)
Routers and energy conservation
Energy conservation can be defined as the decision and the act of using less energy.
Energy conservation for benefits both 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
If we could reduce our router’s electricity usage, even a very small amount, it 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 router’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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