How many watts does a laptop consume?

Among the huge range of computer equipment, you need to choose the highest quality model with improved characteristics. The technical characteristics of the devices help with this. Using them, buyers can compare different versions of equipment, look at indicators and evaluate the quality of devices presented on store shelves.
If you have free time and desire, you can go shopping on your own and see all the options.

But in modern conditions, with a wide range of devices presented, this will take a lot of time. And the advent of the Internet has made this task much easier. Now people can watch everything they need right at home. Read useful information on websites, watch video reviews, so you can navigate the huge variety. It will also be useful to find out the rating of the best models in the selected category.

And in our article we will talk about one of the key characteristics of the laptop. We will talk about the electricity consumed and the necessary power to ensure the functioning of the equipment. Most often, this question arises when you want to save on electricity when operating home appliances. We suggest using the information, calculations and some useful tips presented in this section.

Laptop power consumption

Before proceeding with the description and calculations of electricity consumption, it is worth understanding the main parameters that make up this indicator. The amount of power consumed may depend on several factors:

• The power consumed by the laptop power supply. Here only the unit is taken into account, without the cost of operating a laptop with all programs and applications.
• The amount of power consumed by a laptop during operation. This indicator depends on the installed software, operating system, drivers, processor performance... In this case, all technical characteristics of the model are taken into account.
• Another important indicator is user activity. When working with a document and during an active game, different amounts of energy will be expended. This should be taken into account when calculating.

As you can see from the indicators, the numbers will vary significantly for each device. You can take the average values ​​that the manufacturer writes in the basic information for the equipment. But for accurate indicators you will have to make your own calculations. If you have the time and desire, you can make the calculations yourself; it will not require special knowledge and will not be difficult even for beginners in the field of computer technology.

Important! Despite the important role of technical characteristics and operating activity, the power supply occupies a key place in power consumption. This is what you will need to calculate the main indicators.

How to find out how much a specific laptop consumes?

In order to find out the specific power consumption values ​​​​for your laptop, you should first refer to the power supply.Externally, it looks like a rectangular black block with wires on both sides (current input and output). Also on its body there is usually a special label glued or an image with the necessary information about the incoming and outgoing power and current values. To calculate, use the following plan:

1. Find the power supply, inspect its body to find a sticker or inscription with all the characteristics.
2. Notice the side labeled "INPUT". This place indicates the input characteristics of the current received from the power source (in this case from the outlet) to the unit. Typically average values ​​are 110-240 Volts. The incoming current in Amperes should also be written here.
3. After that, look at the opposite end, there should be an inscription “OUTPUT”. This category indicates the output characteristics that are supplied from the unit to the laptop itself.
4. These indicators reflect the main characteristics of consumed power and electricity.
5. Remember the described parameters and make calculations of power consumption per hour, day, month... We will present a detailed plan for calculating power consumption below.

In general, the parameters described above reflect complete information about the energy consumed. When making calculations, it is worth considering that not all incoming power is completely consumed. The average cost factor is 0.8, approximately 20% of the energy is dissipated and does not reach the laptop, so it is worth making adjustments for power consumption taking into account this factor.

Important! If a sticker or inscription has worn off over time, you can find out the necessary information on the Internet.To do this, just indicate the name and brand of the laptop to find the technical specifications on the official website. This information may also be present in the instructions and operating instructions for the device.

How many kW does a laptop consume per hour?

Once you have found information with basic indicators, you can begin to calculate power consumption. For convenience, let's calculate the figure in kW/hour. You will need to do the following:

1. Take your measurements of the output current supplied to the laptop from the power supply. For example, let's take the parameters: 20V and 3.25A.
2. After this, multiply these values, additionally multiply by the consumption factor of 0.8 (it was mentioned above).
3. After calculations, we will obtain the following values ​​of power consumption: 20 * 3.25 * 0.8 = 52. In this case, the resulting figure is expressed in watts per hour.
4. To convert the value to kW, you need to divide the received data by 1000, you get 52/1000 = 0.052 kW/hour.

After obtaining the basic value, you can make calculations of energy consumption for one day, month or year. To do this, you need to multiply the power consumption per hour by the number of hours. For example, for a full day when switched on, 0.052 * 24 = 1.248 kW will be required.

Important! It is worth considering only the time when the laptop is turned on for correct calculations. If you work on equipment for 4 hours a day, then you need to multiply the data by 4 instead of 24.

How much do gaming and powerful laptops consume?

As was written above, the required power to ensure the functioning of the equipment depends not only on the power supply, but also on the type of work.Of course, many users are interested in the question of additional energy costs for complex work or during active gaming. In this case, it is necessary to use the calculation of additional costs. They consist of the following indicators:

• The number of hours of active work on a laptop, since users usually spend more time playing games than during normal use.
• The input and output power will also be higher, as manufacturers try to create optimal conditions for comfortable gaming.
• Technical characteristics of the screen, processor, installed components. All information can be found in the documentation or on the power supply.

Perform calculations using the presented plan to calculate the costs required to operate the laptop. Also, for clarity, you can convert the obtained values ​​into rubles. To do this, just multiply the number of kW by the cost of one kW in rubles.

If the obtained figures surprised you and made you think about saving, we suggest using our useful tips for saving your budget:

• Enable economy mode in the system settings, this will allow you to use less power consumption during operation. This function allows you to reduce the brightness and frequency of the processor within acceptable limits. You can activate it by pressing hot keys, most often the combination Fn+F12 is used.
• Also in the main settings, through the “power supply” section, you can select a suitable laptop operation scheme to save money.
• If you leave your computer idle for a long time, you can manually turn on sleep or configure the equipment to automatically go into sleep mode.
• Also, if the equipment is turned off for a long time, you can remove the battery from it, since even when it is turned off, there is a small consumption of electricity.