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Calculating Your Computer Power Consumption

Do you have a personal computer at home? If you have one, chances are that would be one of the most frequently used appliances in the house. You use it to do business, gather information, interact with other people, acquire digital files, play games, or create work-related documents. This makes you wonder exactly how much is the electricity cost of running your computer for most of the day. Well, determining that amount is quite simple.

First, determine the total power that is consumed by your computer. This power is usually expressed in kilowatts. You can find that information in the user's manual, but for a more accurate rating, use the appropriate software that you can download online. Such an application estimates your computer's power consumption based on the microprocessor used, screen brightness, and other factors. Next, know the retail cost of electricity in your area by calling the power company or checking the latest electricity bill. Normally, the cost is based on a per-kilowatt-hour basis. Multiply this rate to the total kilowatts used by your computer to have an approximate amount of your unit's electricity bill.

For instance, the software says your 50-watt computer monitor consumes 0.05 kilowatts per hour of operation. Let us also say that the price of electricity is 10 cents per kilowatt hour. If you run your monitor for eight hours a day, you would need to pay 4 cents per day (8 hours X 10 cents X 0.05 kilowatt-hours). Remember though that the above example is just for the monitor. You may want to use the software to calculate the power consumption of your other components such as your graphic card, CPU, and printer.


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