How many kilowatts does the computer consume in sleep mode? Electricity consumption by computers of different power

How much energy does a computer consume?

How much electricity your computer consumes and runs depends on the computer itself. More powerful computers consume more. To find out exactly how much your computer is charging, look at the information on the power supply sticker.

How much energy does a computer consume? This depends on many parameters. Now, if the computer is already more than 15 years old, it is probably more than a six-month-old computer. The manufacturer and power of the computer itself matters.

On its power supply there is an inscription about its consumption. So you can see this information there. If economical consumption is turned on, then less energy is used.

What exactly you do at the computer also plays a role.

The power consumption of a computer can be judged by the power of its power supply. Previously, 200 watts was enough for a computer, but now models with units of 350 watts and above are popular. Usually, when purchasing new hardware, the power supply power is indicated in the price list. But this is the available power, and how much energy your computer will consume also depends on its hardware. For example, if you install a more powerful video card instead of a weak old one, then the power consumption will increase slightly.

A couple of years ago, our resourceful bosses tasked us with finding out what you're asking. So, using current clamps, we measured all our computers and got an average figure: 0.35 kW.

It depends on many factors. Firstly, on the power of the computer. Secondly, it depends on how busy he is with work. If you watch movies, then energy consumption decreases, if you play active games, then consumption increases.

It all depends on your power supply, it should have a label with the manufacturer’s company on it, as well as the power consumption. Power can vary from 200 to 650 watt. But don’t forget that you also have a monitor, speaker or subwoofer connected, as well as a printer scanner. Good luck to you!!!

it all depends on your computer. but there is absolutely no need to guess! just look at the power of your power supply, to do this, remove the side cover of the computer and look at the power supply. on average they consume 350-450 watts.

Different computers consume different amounts of energy. Portable ones are smaller, stationary ones are larger. If you are not interested in the inside of your computer, but just want to know how much it consumes, then take a look at the tag on its power supply. Its power is written there. This is what the computer consumes. A modern desktop computer consumes 300-400 watts. A sophisticated computer with a powerful processor, large RAM and a powerful video card with several hard drives can consume 500 or even 600 watts. But this is rare. And usually focus on the first numbers. Well, add an LCD monitor there! Its power is from 30 to 60 watts. The same amount is consumed by the audio amplifier and the printer, if there is one. So all together no more than 500 watts.

How much electricity does a computer consume?, depends on its model, when it was manufactured, how long it works, what room it is in, how you use your computer. But if we say this on average, then if your computer is fairly new and has average characteristics, then when working on the computer 2 hours a day, it can consume up to 9 kWh per month.

Electricity consumption increases especially strongly if you like to play computer games, since they require a lot of processing load. And if you just read something on the Internet, and you also have an economy mode, then the consumption will be less.

The more powerful the computer processor, the more RAM and the capabilities of the computer’s video card, and the larger the diagonal of the computer monitor, the more electricity it consumes. You should also consider whether regular speakers or a powerful subwoofer are connected to the computer. This also affects energy consumption. Therefore, you need to look individually and ask the seller or system administrator about the power consumption of your computer, since each computer consumes a different amount of electricity per hour.

Hello everyone, friends! Today we continue the topic of saving energy and in today’s article we will try to find out how much electricity a typical home computer consumes.

To determine the consumption of the computer as a whole, you need to add up all the separately connected devices, for example, as a rule, this is the system unit - the heart of the computer, or as some mistakenly call the processor, and it is worth taking into account the consumption of the computer monitor.

To determine consumption, they usually look at the power of the power supply; in computers it is from 350 watts, most often from 450 watts in modern computers. Out of ignorance, to determine the power consumption of a computer, they take and consider the consumption equal to the power of the power supply of the system unit, but this is not correct. Electricity consumption depends directly on the load on the processor by applications.

During work
If you are just working on a computer, for example browsing the Internet, or typing or viewing photos, then the approximate electricity consumption will be from 120 to 160 watts on average, or from 0.14 kilowatts (kW).

During games
If you use energy-intensive applications that require powerful, coordinated operation of all parts of the computer, for example, video games, or working with graphics, power consumption in this case can reach values from 300 to 340 watts per hour, or 0.3 kW.

Old computers
Old computers with an age of 7-10 years consume electricity much less than modern ones; these are computers usually with Windows Xp installed; electricity consumption will average 70 W/hour.

When choosing a system unit, we usually look only at its performance and memory capacity. And we only think about how much light the computer generates a little later.

To its credit, manufacturers are trying their best to reduce computer power consumption, and they are doing quite well. If you compare the “dinosaurs” of ten years ago with modern “cars”, the difference will be impressive. Hence the first conclusion: the newer the computer, the less money it takes from your pocket.

How much electricity does a computer consume?

It is clear that everyone’s configuration is different, so we will look at the three most typical cases as an example.

Medium power computer with moderate use. Let's say he works on average 5 hours a day, mainly for Internet surfing, communication and simple games. Approximate consumption – 180 watts, plus the monitor, another 40 watts. It turns out that the entire system consumes 220 watts per hour. 220 Watt x 5 hours = 1.1 kW. Let’s add to this the consumption in standby mode (after all, you don’t unplug the computer from the outlet, right?). 4 Watts x 19 hours = 0.076 kW. Total, 1,176 kW per day, 35 kW per month.

Gaming computer. A configuration with a powerful processor and a good video card draws approximately 400 W. Plus monitor, 40 W. In total, the average computer electricity consumption per hour is 440 watts. Let's say our gamer plays 6 hours a day. 440 W x 6 hours = 2.64 kW per day. Standby mode will add another 0.072 kW (4 W x 18). Total, 2.71 kW per day, 81 kW per month.

Server mode, 24x7. The PC is a media server on the home network; photo and video files are stored on it. The monitor, in most cases, is not used; the “filling” is a hard drive of several terabytes. Such a system consumes, on average, 40 W per hour. 40 W x 24 hours = 0.96 kW per day, 29 kW per month.

How to find out how much electricity your computer consumes

When buying a 100-watt light bulb, we know in advance how much it costs per hour. With a computer, as can be seen from the examples above, everything is somewhat more complicated. Consumption depends on your system configuration, schedule, and even what you do.

Even looking at a PC out of the box, it is not always possible to understand its power. What can we say about those assembled to order, where there are no identification marks on the body at all. You won’t disassemble it and look for disk data, video cards... How, in this case, can you find out how much electricity the computer consumes per hour? There are at least two ways.

Accurate. There are special devices for calculating electricity consumption. A very useful device can be bought both in our stores and in foreign ones. A simple wattmeter will cost $15, more sophisticated models – from $30. Plug it into a socket near the device you are interested in, and get its consumption data online.

Exemplary. We turn off all the electricity in the house and leave one 100-watt light bulb on. We count the number of revolutions of the counter, say, in 30 seconds. We turn off the light bulb, turn on the computer, launch Diablo (or any “heavy” application), count the revolutions again, and compare. If it is much more, you can repeat the experiment with a 200-watt light bulb.

Computer power consumption in sleep mode

Modern computers are distinguished not only by low consumption, but also by a variety of modes. Many people confuse them, so let's clarify.

Sleep mode: turns off hard drives, applications remain in RAM, and work resumes almost instantly. Consumes 7-10% of the total system power.

Hibernation Mode: completely shuts down the computer, data is saved in a separate file, work resumes more slowly than after sleep. Consumes 5-10 watts.

Complete shutdown or standby mode, as it is sometimes called, by analogy with household appliances. The system is completely logged out and all unsaved data is lost. The work begins with a new system boot. Consumes 4-5 watts.

How to reduce your computer's power consumption

As you can see, in any of the modes the PC continues, albeit slightly, to consume electricity. Therefore, if possible, try to disconnect it from the network. And a few more tips for saving money when using a computer.

Buy energy efficient models;
If it’s not important for you, give preference to a desktop PC;
Do not turn up the brightness on the monitor “all the way”;
Set aside a certain time for work or play, after which turn off the computer. This is much more economical than multiple “sessions” of several minutes.
Set up a power plan. Set the optimal modes, depending on your schedule and duration of work.

How much electricity does a computer consume? Old computers were economical, and then this issue was not so serious. Now the situation has changed dramatically. The computing power of modern PCs has increased significantly. The flip side of this process was the unlimited increase in electrical energy consumption. As a result, high-performance system units are capable of consuming 1-2 kW at peak load. Servers spend even more. Western Europe and North America have been paying attention to this indicator for a long time. We are not yet particularly concerned about how much energy a computer consumes. But we can say with great confidence that this problem will definitely arise soon, due to a significant increase in the price of 1 kilowatt of energy.

How much is it?

For a system unit, this indicator will not be difficult to determine. You just need to look at the power of the power supply. This will be the power it consumes at peak load. In the basic configuration, this figure is currently 450 watts. For the average level, this value will increase and will already be 500 W. But the ultimate gaming PC will have to be installed with a minimum power of 650 W. But this is all theory, and such electricity consumption will only occur in peak mode. So the question “how much electricity does a computer consume” remains open.

How to determine the energy consumption of a system unit?

In practice, the PC does not always operate at peak load. Therefore, the real value can only be determined using direct measurement. There are two possible options here. In the first case, you can use a wattmeter. Such measuring instruments are not widely used. They are very expensive and quite difficult to get. Therefore, most users use the second method to determine how much electricity a computer consumes. It consists of alternately measuring current and voltage. Both parameters can be measured using a multimeter. It is only important to remember that in the first case, the measurement is done in series with the consumer, and in the second - in parallel. By defining two parameters, you can find out the required value. To do this, it is enough to multiply them. If you take several measurements step by step, you can find out how much electricity your computer consumes under different load conditions.

Other components

Until recently, our attention was focused on the system unit. But the computer also includes consumers such as a monitor, printer and router. All this equipment also consumes electrical energy. To determine its value from a theoretical perspective, it is enough to look at the documentation for this equipment: the value of this parameter will definitely be indicated there. To more accurately determine power, you can use the method that was indicated in the previous section.

Conclusion

In order to fully determine how much energy a computer spends, it is necessary to sum up all the values that were obtained previously. Theoretical numbers must be added to the theoretical values. But the results of practical measurements should be summed up. But it is necessary to take into account the operating mode under which the result was obtained. For example, the peak load of the system unit, monitor and other components will allow you to get the maximum power that the PC spends at the highest load. The result should be obtained similarly for other modes.

You may not realize it, but your desktop computer probably uses a lot of power. This also means that it is responsible for increasing your electricity bill.

However, many people have a habit of leaving their PC turned on for a long time. Some have even turned their old PC into a home server or media center and leave the system running 24/7.

The average desktop computer has a total power consumption of approximately 80 to 250 watts, or more if it has a stronger power supply. The total load also depends on the installed video card, and additional peripherals and equipment connected to it.

Now, let's say the computer is running, consuming 130 watts per hour, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 365 days a year. At a cost of about 3.20 rubles per kW/h (kilowatt-hour) (I currently have this figure in my payment card), then the computer increases the electricity bill by 3,600 rubles every year.

3,600 rubles per year may seem like a small number, but it is important to remember that this is only an estimate. In some areas of our country they charge more than 3.20 rubles. per kWh, and more powerful computers require even more energy. Ultimately, this means that this estimate can be much higher or lower in each specific case.

There are utilities you can use to calculate exactly how much power your computer is using. For example, Microsoft has created a free application that will show you how much energy your PC is using. Unfortunately, Microsoft does not install this program by default, but you can download it online.

You can also use online tools such as .

But all desktop computers are modifiable, in the sense that they all have different hardware. It makes more sense to evaluate your computer based on what's installed inside. To do this, however, you must know the consumption ratings of each part and those that consume the most energy.

Which parts of your PC consume the most energy?

Typically, the more cooling a given component requires, the more power it will consume. This includes hardware such as the CPU, GPU, motherboard, and power supply.

However, the motherboard and power supply simply take energy and transfer it to other components. Thus, not taking into account those parts that simply redirect energy, and summing up the energy consumption of all other components, we find the average consumption:

Processor: 55 to 150 W
GPU: 25 to 350 W
Optical drive: 15 to 27 W
Hard drive: 0.7 to 9 W
RAM: 2 to 5.5 W
Case fans: 0.6 to 6 W
SSD: 0.6 to 3 W
Other hardware components:

The exact level of power consumption depends on the equipment. For example, high-end AMD processors have up to eight cores and use anywhere from 95 to 125 Watts. on the other hand, simple AMD processors that have two cores use from 65 to 95 W.

They have a completely different assessment of consumption.

When it comes to graphics cards, when you first look at them, they seem to be more demanding - but looks can be deceiving.

High-performance graphics cards can use 240 to 350 W of power under heavy loads, but only 39 to 53 W at idle. In reality, you don't use your graphics card at full power all the time, just like you don't use your processor at full power all the time.

Typically, the processor is used more frequently and is therefore considered the component that uses more power.

These components can consume from 130 to 600 W or more. If we take the golden mean, we can say that the computer consumes approximately 450 W.

Most modern TVs use between 80 and 400 watts, depending on the size and type of technology. Plasma TVs tend to consume a lot more power compared to LCD, LEG and OLED TVs.

Let's say we watch TV about 4 hours a day, 7 days a week. At 400 W and 3.20 rubles per kW/h, which is about 0.400 x 4 x 7 x 3.20 = 35 rubles. per week (or 1800 per year). Not bad, right?

But remember that this is only if you use it for about 4 hours a day. If you watch TV more often, this number will be significantly higher.

So, in reality, the power consumption of an average computer will be about the same or slightly higher than a high-end TV.

Luckily, there are a few things you can do to reduce the amount of power your computer uses.

Turn off your computer when you are not using it (for example, in the evening or on weekends). If you want it to boot faster, you can use Sleep or Hibernate mode instead of shutting it down completely. When you enable sleep mode, your computer goes into a low-power mode, and while it's hibernating it uses almost no power.
If you don't want to turn off your computer, turn off your monitor when you're not using it.
Replace your old mechanical hard drives with solid state drives. They are faster and more energy efficient.
Replace old equipment. Older processors, hard drives, RAM, video cards, and other computer components are less efficient. If you can, upgrade to newer components for improved performance and efficiency.
In the BIOS, check the "ACPI Suspend Type" option and make sure it is set to S3 and not S1 or S2. This will prevent the processor, RAM, and some other components from being powered when the computer is in sleep mode.
In Windows, under System > Control Panel > Power Options, you can change some power saving settings, including how and when your computer goes to sleep. This will allow you to automate low-power modes.
If you don't need a powerful computer, change it to "low-power" versions, etc.