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There is no fixed electricity cost for running a 1080p YouTube loop stream on a low-end PC. Your bill depends on the computer’s average power draw at the wall, how many hours it runs, and your electricity rate. Estimate it with (average watts ÷ 1,000) × operating hours × price per kWh. For example, a PC averaging 100 watts would use 72 kWh over a 30-day month running continuously; at the 2025 U.S. residential average rate, that works out to about $12.46 for the PC alone.
Estimate the monthly electricity cost
Convert the PC’s average wall draw from watts to kilowatts, multiply by the hours it runs, then multiply by your electricity price per kilowatt-hour (kWh). For a continuous 30-day month, the schedule is 720 hours (24 × 30).
The following examples use the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s 2025 U.S. residential average of 17.30¢/kWh. The power draws are assumptions, not measured consumption for any particular low-end PC.
| Assumed average PC draw | Energy over 720 hours | Illustrative 30-day cost at 17.30¢/kWh |
|---|---|---|
| 50 W | 36 kWh | $6.23 |
| 100 W | 72 kWh | $12.46 |
| 150 W | 108 kWh | $18.68 |
These figures cover only the assumed PC load. A monitor, router, capture device, or other equipment that stays on for the stream adds its own consumption. Measure or estimate those loads separately if you want the total for the whole setup.
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Use your own electricity rate
Replace 17.30¢ with the price per kWh on your bill for a more relevant estimate. The EIA’s reported 2025 state range—from 8.20¢/kWh in North Dakota to 35.72¢/kWh in Hawaii—covers all customer types, not residential customers alone. Rates and bill structures vary; fixed charges or time-of-use pricing can make a simple average less precise. See the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s explanation of electricity prices.
Measure the PC instead of guessing
A power supply’s rated capacity is not the same as the computer’s ongoing wall draw. For a useful estimate, measure the actual setup while it is doing a representative stream. A plug-in electricity usage monitor can help; choose one appropriate for your outlet and region.
- Connect the PC through the meter. Use a meter suited to your local outlet and electrical system. Include only the equipment you intend to count.
- Run the intended stream setup. Use the encoder, resolution, frame rate, and loop or scene you expect to leave running. Let the setup settle into its ordinary operating state.
- Record average watts or accumulated kWh. If the meter reports energy over a known duration, use that reading directly; otherwise, use its average-watt reading as an estimate.
- Calculate the matching period. For average watts, use (watts ÷ 1,000) × hours × your price per kWh. For a meter’s kWh total, multiply that energy by your price per kWh.
State what the result includes. Measuring the PC alone will not account for a display or network equipment that also remains on.
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What 1080p settings mean for the stream—and the PC
The 1080p label does not determine electricity cost by itself. Actual draw depends on the machine and its workload, while stream settings can affect whether that machine can encode reliably. A static loop may be less demanding than a complex scene, but that is a general inference, not a measured result for a particular computer.
YouTube’s H.264 guidance
YouTube’s current live-encoder guidance recommends H.264 bitrates of 5–14 Mbps for 1080p at 30 fps and 6–17 Mbps for 1080p at 60 fps. It specifies constant bitrate (CBR), recommends a two-second keyframe interval, and says not to exceed four seconds. YouTube also emphasizes a stable upload connection and recommends testing before a stream. Consult YouTube’s live encoder settings, bitrates, and resolutions for the current guidance.
These are encoder and upload settings, not a measurement of PC power use. A higher frame rate may change the encoding workload, but the computer’s draw still depends on its hardware, encoder, software, and content.
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Can a low-end PC keep the stream running?
Not necessarily. OBS Project cautions: “Having a compatible system does not guarantee that it is capable of streaming or recording using OBS Studio.” Its system-requirements guidance notes that CPU needs vary with encoder, resolution, frame rate, and scene complexity. The OBS page is dated 2021-08-25; see OBS Project’s system requirements.
Choose a workload the PC can sustain
- If 1080p60 is unstable, test 1080p30. OBS recommends trying 30 fps if 60 fps is not working.
- If encoding performance is poor, reduce the output resolution or frame rate and test again.
- Consider a supported hardware encoder to move encoding work away from the CPU. Support depends on the specific hardware and drivers.
OBS generally recommends hardware encoding, but notes a trade-off: earlier-generation hardware encoders may provide lower image quality at the same bitrate than software encoding at its default veryfast preset. See OBS Project’s hardware encoding guidance and encoding performance troubleshooting.
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Run a short test at the settings you plan to use. Check YouTube’s stream health and OBS’s dropped-frame or encoding status, and verify that the loop restarts as intended. Watching temperatures during the test is also a practical precaution for a PC expected to run for long periods. YouTube recommends testing and monitoring stream health; these checks cannot guarantee that a particular computer will remain stable indefinitely.
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Keep it running without leaving a PC on
If you want a 24/7 YouTube loop but do not want your computer and home connection to run continuously, StreamNeo is a cloud option. Upload a recording or build a playlist, add your YouTube stream key once, and go live; StreamNeo loops uploaded videos from the cloud. It streams to YouTube, not from a camera.
Or let it run in the cloud
- Upload your recording or create a playlist.
- Add your YouTube stream key.
- Go live; StreamNeo loops the video from the cloud.
Nothing has to stay on at home. Every slot includes one always-on stream, 10 GB of storage per slot pooled across active slots, playlists and 24/7 looping, support, and automatic recovery if YouTube drops the stream. Videos stream as uploaded, up to 4K 60fps, at one flat price per slot rather than quality-based tiers. The first day is free with no card (one free day per account). The monthly option is $9.99 per month.
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Costs to keep in perspective
For a PC-based setup, use your measured wall draw and your own electricity rate; the examples above are not a universal “low-end PC” figure. Also account for any display or network equipment you leave on. For a cloud service, compare the service cost with the equipment and electricity you would otherwise keep running, while considering that the two approaches provide different operating arrangements.
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