How Much Power Does a Laptop Draw – A laptop draws power from the battery to run the hardware and the computer screen. Laptops vary in theirpower draw, but most draw less than 100 watts when idle and around 150-200 watts when active.
Laptop chargers come in all shapes and sizes, but the wattage they can handle is generally limited to around 15 watts. So how much power does a average laptop actually use? We did the math and found that the average laptop draws around 60 watts when fully charged, which is about what you’d expect from a typical 15-watt charger.
How much power does a laptop draw? Some laptops have a battery that lasts up to 6 hours, but most laptops use a battery that lasts for about 3 hours. How much power does your computer use?
The average power consumption of laptops is around 150 watts. This means that a laptop will draw around 0.15 watt an hour, or around 3 watts an hour. So if you are using your laptop for an hour every day, it will use around 6 watt over the course of a month.
Power consumption is one of the most important factors when it comes to deciding which laptop to buy. And like most things, there’s a lot of confusion out there about how much power different laptops require. So we thought we’d try and clear some things up.
Basically, the amount of power a laptop draws depends on a few factors: its processor, graphics card, operating system (OS), and how many applications are running at the same time.
Introduction: how much power a laptop uses
How much power does a laptop draw? Laptops can vary quite a bit in terms of their overall power requirements, but on average, they require about 190 watts to operate. That’s not a lot of wattage, especially when you consider that most laptops only use around 50 watts when idle.
In fact, if you’re looking to shave off some battery life from your laptop, you might want to reduce the power usage rather than increasing the output.
Most laptops have a power adapter that provides enough power to run the computer. However, when the laptop is in use, it draws more power from the adapter. In general, a laptop’s battery will only provide enough power to run the computer for 2-3 hours if it is not being used.
Components that use power in a laptop
Most laptops draw around 500 watts of power when they’re turned on, which is enough to run a basic home computer. If you have a powerful laptop, like one with an Intel Core i5 or i7 processor and 8GB of memory or more, it can draw up to 1,000 watts of power when it’s turned on.
So if you’re planning to use your laptop at the same time as your TV or other electronics in your home, make sure you have a power outlet that can handle its load.
Most people know that laptops typically use less power than desktop computers, but they may not be aware of the precise difference. According to Laptop Mag, a typical laptop uses about one-seventh the power of a desktop computer.
That means if you’re using your laptop plugged into the wall, it will likely use about 100 watts of power, while a desktop computer using the same amount of energy could draw up to 350 watts from the outlet.
How to measure the power usage of a laptop
A laptop is a portable computer that usually has a lithium-ion battery. A laptop can be either used as an individual device, or hooked up to an external power source such as a wall outlet or car charger. Generally speaking, the smaller and lighter the laptop, the less power it will require.
Laptops that are designed for use in schools, businesses and other closed environments typically have more powerful batteries to accommodate longer periods of uninterrupted use.
A laptop typically uses a power adapter that provides up to 40 watts of power. Laptops with more powerful processors or graphics may require more power, up to 100 watts. Be aware that some laptops have battery life limits and will not work if they are plugged in beyond their designated draw.
Power management features in laptops
A recent report from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) found that the average laptop draws about 3 watts of power when idle and up to 15 watts when using key features, such as a web browser or basic word processing. A single battery charge can give a laptop up to 6 hours of use.
To put that in perspective, a 100-watt light bulb uses around 30 watts while an electric heater may use up to 1,000 watts. A laptop typically draws less power than a desktop when running on battery. However, a modern laptop can easily draw upwards of 100 watts when plugged into an outlet. So, how much power does a laptop actually use?
Laptop battery life and how it is affected by power usage
Most laptops have a power adapter that provides enough watts to run the laptop. Laptops use different amounts of power depending on the model, but on average they use between 500 and 600 watts. This means that a typical laptop uses around 3 to 4 watts of power while it is plugged in.
A laptop typically uses around 20-30 watts of power when running basic tasks such as browsing the internet, working on a spreadsheet, or watching a movie.
However, depending on the model and configuration, a laptop can draw up to 100 watts of power when in use. This amount of power can quickly drain your battery if you’re not careful, so be sure to turn off your laptop when you’re not using it to conserve energy.
Tutorial
How Much Power Does a Laptop Charger Use?
Another thing one should find out when they have a laptop is whether leaving its charger unplugged would have an impact on their electricity consumption.
Many people have a habit of leaving their charger in the sockets while it is not in use. Research shows that doing this still impacts the amount of electricity a household consumes.
Many people assume that when their laptops are fully charged, they stop consuming electricity. Studies show that this is not actually true. Your laptop still uses power if it stays plugged in after it is full. The charge also consumes some power if you leave it plugged in.
The power used up by laptops and their chargers when plugged in is known as vampire energy. It might not be a lot, but it still goes a long way to rack up your utility bill at the end of the month.
On average, your laptop charger will use up to 29.84watts when it is left plugged in. your laptop will use up to 22.40 watts if left plugged in after it has charged. The amount translates to over 60% of the power used when you are charging your laptop.
It is for this reason that you are advised to switch off the socket when your laptop is not charging. Some people recommend you unplug it from the socket if it is not charging.
It will go a long way to reduce the amount of money you pay as electricity bills when you are done. If you have an extension cable with over one charger plugged into it, unplug your charger after use. You get to use your laptop’s battery instead of using up electricity when your laptop is fully charged.
How to Check the Laptop Power Consumption
With all this information, I am sure you are curious to know how much power your laptop consumes every time you use it. Knowing this information will come in handy when you are trying to figure out how to reduce your laptop’s power consumption. There are several ways you can go about it.
The first thing you can do is check your task manager. It is found by right-clicking on the taskbar and searching for “Task Manager.” Here you will find a list of your apps and how it is functioning on your computer.
The task manager also offers details on the amount of space in the CPU the apps or software are using. The only downside to this is, you will not have a clear depiction of power use. The sign of power usage is denoted by “very low,” “low,” “high,” and “very high.”
Another way to find out how much power your laptop is using is to check your battery use. You can find this under the settings. It will give you a rough idea of how much battery power your apps and software are using.
The good thing with checking under the battery is the fact that you get to see which apps and software are using the bigger percentage of your power.
There is a list of how power has been used in the last 24 hours, and it goes up to a week. While these might all be great ways to see how your laptop is consuming power, they are not entirely accurate. There are other ways of knowing the exact power your laptop is using.
Laptop Power Consumption Calculator
One of the surest ways of knowing how much power your laptop is consuming is by using the power consumption calculator. This is a formula that allows you to calculate how much power your laptop is using. You get a clear picture with the watts that are being used.
The first thing you need to do when calculating your power usage is getting the wattage of your device. Once you do that, figure out how many hours a day do you use your laptop. Multiplying these two numbers will give you’re your wattage per day.
Many people use kilowatts per hour to know what the electricity company uses when finding out what their bills are. To do this, convert your wattage to kilowatts by diving it by 1000.
Multiply this figure by the number of hours in a day and get your kWh value. To convert the figure into the amount of wattage you use in a month, take that value and multiply it by the number of days in a month. It will go to great lengths to help determine how much power you use in a month.
If you do not love doing math like most people, there are still other ways you can calculate your power usage in a month. Knowing about them will come easy for you in the long run.
How to Reduce Your Laptops Power Consumption
The primary reason many people are keen on their laptop’s energy consumption is to find out what they can do to reduce it. It goes a long way to help cut down on power bills.
Here are a couple of things you can do that will come in handy when you want to reduce the energy consumption of your laptop.
Turn down your screen’s brightness
One of the biggest energy uses on the laptop is the screen’s brightness. A bright screen will mean that your laptop is using up more power, reduce your screen’s brightness if you do not need it, and your battery will last longer. You will also use less power when charging your laptop.
Check the settings on your power management
Update the energy settings on your laptop. There are options for energy saving on your laptop, and all you need to do is find them.
Do not do processor-intensive tasks
Carrying out tasks like editing, and rendering videos is bound to take its toll on your device. If you can avoid doing such tasks on your laptop, you will save a lot of energy being used.
Use your Wi-Fi carefully
If you are not doing a task that requires the internet, switch off your Wi-Fi. It is one of the ways your laptop ends up using a lot of power.
These few tips have been tried and tested and been proven to be very efficient. They will go a long way to ensure your preserve your battery life and save on electricity bills.
Conclusion: what this all means for laptop users
Most laptop users know that their devices require a charger to operate and that the wattage of a charger corresponds to how much power the device will consume. Many users also know that when they plug in their devices, the wattage meter on their laptop will jump up and notify them of how much power is being used.
The table below shows common wattages for various types of chargers, as well as some common models of laptops. Laptops use primarily three sources of energy: kinetic, electrical and thermal.
