Troubled with your high electricity bill and don’t know the reason? Then try considering some extra things like your laptop. Yes, your laptop. The laptop is among those few things which are not considered when looking for a reason for your high electricity bills. So have you ever wondered how much power your laptop is consuming?
Well, generally speaking, a laptop with 15.6 inches screen uses about 60 watts of power per hour which is approximately 0.06 kilowatt per hour. The number can vary a little bit depending on your laptop specs.
However, the number can change based on multiple factors. So to get to know the exact amount of power that a laptop consumes, you must first know the factors which determine the power consumption.
Factors That Affect Power Consumption
Here I have enlisted the significant factors that decide how much power your laptop will use when plugged in.
Type Of Laptop
The first and most significant factor is the type and purpose this laptop was made, like gaming laptops and workstations use a larger amount of energy than standard laptops. Using a standard laptop will consume about 60 watts/hour of power, while gaming and workstation laptops consume much more than that.
According to the general assessment of some gaming and workstation laptops, it was concluded that these laptops use an average of 100 watts/hour.
Read More: Best Laptops For Cyber Security Professionals
CPU
Advancement in technology has led mankind to progress much further. Now with the latest and advanced technology, the latest CPUs are not only designed to provide a better experience while gaming, processing, or doing multitasking, but they also consume much less power than their predecessors. Thus laptops with the latest processor chip will use comparatively less energy than the other laptops.
Screen Size
The display screen shows the image and data processed by the processor. It is by far the primary factor in determining how much power a laptop consumes. The bigger the display size, the more power it consumes.
Typically, laptops with a 15-inch screen consume 60 Watts/ hour of power depending upon other factors.
Graphics Card
Graphic cards are mainly responsible for the better-quality display, but the better display comes at the price of more power consumption. If you bought a laptop with a heavy graphic card to support you through gaming or running CAD software, then you should know that it will consume much more power than standard laptops.
Adapter
The adapter acts as a power supply for the laptop and the laptop with a better graphic card and bigger screen size will have a bigger adapter to provide enough power to run smoothly. So a bigger adapter means a laptop consumes more power; make sure that the adapter is sufficient for those upgrades when you upgrade your laptop.
Usually, laptops with a bigger 17-inch screen come with a 90-watt adapter, while a standard laptop with a 15.6-inch display comes with a 60-watt power adapter.
Number Of Watts That A Gaming Laptop Consume
Gaming is now much more popular than it was a few years back. The games are now designed to have realistic graphics and a much better visual quality, so gaming laptops are equipped with the best specs to run those high-end games smoothly. Many people own a high-end laptop, usually for playing games.
Thus how much power it consumes mainly depends on the type of processor, Graphic card, and screen size. These laptops have a much higher watt adapter to keep them running when plugged in. A famous gaming laptop like Acer Predator Helios 3000 comes with a 180 Watt charger; thus, it consumes at least 180 Watts/ hour.
Method To Calculate The Power Consumed By Your Laptop
Now, when you know which factors affect the power consumption of the laptop, let’s move on to the next step. How to calculate it? The power a laptop consumes can easily be estimated by the adapter wattage. It is not an exact and most accurate method, but it can give you a rough estimate. If you want to get an exact value, you can do one of the following things.
- Manually Check All Components
If you are not satisfied by simply the power consumption through the adapter, you can just check all the components separately and look for their power consumption. Add all of these, and you will get a result, but this will still not be an exact result because many components may not be consuming their full power. Putting all these results in an online power consumption calculator will give you the exact power your laptop consumes.
- Plug An Electricity Usage Monitor
This method will give you the exact amount of power your laptop is currently using. You just have to connect the electricity usage monitor to the laptop, and it will provide you with the exact amount of power the laptop is currently using.
Tips For Consuming Less Power
The power which a laptop consumes is different as it depends upon usage, while gaming and other extensive tasks may require more power than usual. Thus, how can you make your laptop consume less power when you are not doing heavy tasks. I will provide you with some simple methods through which you can just make your laptop consume less power.
- Reduce the brightness.
- Lower the fan speed during light work.
- Get yourself a cooling pad to reduce heat losses.
Final verdict
Knowing the amount of power the laptop consumes could help you understand its effects on the electricity bill. Plus, you can save the extra bucks, which you spend on the bills, and use it for something else like purchasing a better and improved laptop. In that case, my personal favorite these days is Dell Inspiron 14 because it’s energy-efficient and doesn’t cost a lot.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQS)
How much power does a laptop use per hour?
According to various tests conducted on multiple laptops, it is found that on average laptops consume 40 to 60 watts of electricity per hour.
Does a laptop consume a lot of electricity?
Not really, as these laptops consume 0.04 to 0.05-kilowatt per hour which isn’t a big amount. One can further decrease this to 0.02 KWH or even less by turning the power-saving mode on.
Does laptop charging increase electric bills?
Yes, to some extent because when we charge the laptop the power consumption increases up to 15% which will directly impact the electricity bill.
