How Many Watts Does A Laptop Use? Read on our guide below to find out more.
Laptops don’t require much power to run, but sometimes you’ll wonder how many watts your laptop uses when charging. But this will come with some considerations, including the laptop’s battery life.
Determining how much power your laptop will consume is one of your top priorities. If you’re looking to take your laptop with you on long trips or to places where you can’t plug it in, a long-lasting battery is essential. Within the following guide, you will learn laptop power consumption. Let’s explore!
Factors Affecting Power Consumption of Laptops
Laptops are designed so that each component works as efficiently as possible while still offering many functions and high computing power. The processor and display are the main components of large electricity consumers. These are the main components of electricity consumption:
- Graphics card
- Display
- Processor
- Random Access Memory (RAM).
- Hard disk/SSD
- Module WLAN
- Laptop Fan
- Touchpad
A modern laptop equipped with a multicore processor can consume 60 watts or more when used heavily. It is important to consider the graphics card. Laptops consume significantly more power if one is installed.
The graphics are calculated using the main processor, not the graphics card. A dedicated graphics card can only be installed in high-end or gaming laptops.
How Many Watts Does A Laptop Charger Use?
You can often find out how much power your computer needs if you don’t agree with the “around 90 Watts an hour” estimate.
You only need to check the charger on your laptop. Nearly all laptops will have this information. You can see that my gaming laptop (17-inch) will consume 180 Watts an hour. This is because it requires more power than your regular laptop to browse the internet.
To find the exact values for your laptop model, take a look at the laptop charger wattage. It will likely be the only number that is followed by a W. This is Watts.
How Much Power Does A Laptop Use Per Hour?
Although you may know how many Watts your laptop’s charger needs to run, most laptops will use less. Your laptop will use less power when it is on battery or charging. It will only consume the maximum amount indicated on the charger, which is typically around 90 Watts.
While the actual laptop power usage will vary depending on its usage, it will still be fairly consistent. It will consume very little energy if your laptop is not being used, but it will use a lot for internet browsing and gaming.
It’s the same with your phone: The more you use it, the quicker the battery dies. These are just a few of the most important factors that can affect your laptop’s power consumption.
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1. Screen size
To run a larger screen, you will need more power. Laptops with smaller screens consume less energy.
2. Internal components
Your laptop will use more power if it has a dedicated Graphics Card. Power consumption will increase if you have multiple hard drives and SDDs.
The CPU also has an impact on power consumption. However, this depends on the task you are performing on your laptop. Your laptop will consume more power if it has more CPU to do certain tasks.
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3. External peripherals
Any extra device that you connect to your laptop but doesn’t have power will cause it to consume more power. This includes a mouse or external keyboard. They require some power to function, so conserve energy by unplugging peripherals when you are not using them.
How to calculate Watts Consumed by a Laptop?
It all boils down to knowing how to calculate the actual wattage of your laptop. You can either determine the exact wattage by knowing your laptop’s charger power consumption and other factors. You can also use an electricity usage monitor to determine how much power your laptop uses.
1. Manual Calculation
You can calculate the amount of power your laptop consumes by adding up the power required to charge it (adapter laptop wattage). You may need to consider other factors if you want a more precise number.
The Acer Predator Laptop has a charging adapter that consumes 180 watts per hour. The CPU and GPU are two of the most important components that can increase overall consumption.
You will find an Intel processor, NVIDIA graphics cards, or AMD in almost all systems. You can either search the official site to find out the power consumption of these components, or you can look at the back panel yourself to be certain.
The power consumption range is between 45W and 50W, while a GPU is between 75W and 80W. These two components together can increase the power consumption of a laptop by over 10-15%. This is an average figure and may vary depending on the component.
The screen brightness ranges between 0.5W and 15W per hour at maximum brightness. These are just a few of the components that are being considered. There are many more such as RAM, SSD/HDD, and RAM.
You can see more. It may not be possible to calculate the exact value manually, but it is possible to approximate the value for a rough idea.
It consumes 60 watts of electricity (equivalent to 0.06 kWh). It will cost approximately 6.76 cents per day to run a laptop if used for 8 hours (assuming an average energy cost of 12 cents/kWh).
2. Electricity Usage: The Calculation
An Electricity Usage Monitor can be used to make more precise calculations. The device can be connected to the power socket. It will tell you how many watts your laptop used during charging. The monitor displays the total power consumption, which is why it includes everything.
You can use the device to power other appliances in your home. Although it may not be required, curiosity can lead to you doing impossible things.
Stick the device to the wall socket and plug in the charger. The charger will begin reading how much power it is drawing from the socket. It will generally show 60W, which is the power the charger was built with.
Once the battery has been charged, the battery will be fully charged. This will allow you to determine how much power the laptop consumes from its battery and the components. This device can also be used to calculate the total power consumption of the laptop over the time it has been in use.
This handy device can be purchased easily from e-commerce websites. You can also grab it to learn more about your computer and other appliances.
How To Consume Less Power On Your Laptop
You may already be aware of the power consumption of your laptop. Here are some ways to reduce the power consumption of your laptops.
Disconnect External Devices When Not In Use
Although you might not be aware, external devices connected to your laptops such as webcams and printers use energy. It is better to unplug them when they are not being used. This could help you save some power.
A Smart Strip Is Useful
Smart strips are a series of electrical outlets with a circuit that monitors and maximizes your gadget’s power consumption. You can plug your laptop in and any other devices such as a printer or speaker to it. This will allow you to eliminate the need to unplug your equipment after you have finished using them.
Adjust Your Laptop’s Energy-Saving Setting
It is a good habit to regularly check the power settings of your laptop in the settings. There are many options available to save energy on your laptop. You can set your laptop to go into sleep mode if it is not being used. You can also reduce the brightness of your laptop to save power.
Shutdown And Unplug Your Laptop When Not In Use
This may seem obvious, but if you don’t use a smart strip to power your laptop, unplugging it and turning it off when it is not in use will help you save energy. Unplug your laptop when it is not in use. Your laptop will still consume standby power even if it is in shutdown.
Use Your Charger Wisely
It is best only to use your laptop when it is charging. The battery could be damaged, and it will use up its standby power. A degraded battery will consume more energy than a healthy one.
Conclusion
As you can see, it uses very little power overall, regardless of the model you have, the peripherals you use, and the activities you do with the laptop. Leave a comment to let us know that you found this guide helpful. Thank you for spending your time at Medcpu.com. We are grateful for your support.
Eyal Ephrat serves as the co-founder and CEO of medCPU.com, where technology is making significant strides in the field of medicine. Through his experience in purchasing PC and laptop equipment and various other tech products, Eyal Ephrat contributes valuable insights to medCPU’s mission.
