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There’s no reliable single price: it depends on your PC’s average power draw at the wall, how many hours it runs, and your electricity rate. Calculate it as (average watts ÷ 1,000) × hours × price per kWh. Measure the whole setup if you want to include a monitor and other separately powered devices.
How to calculate the electricity cost
Watts measure power at a moment in time; kilowatt-hours (kWh) measure energy used over time. Convert watts to kilowatts, multiply by running hours to get kWh, then multiply by your electricity price per kWh.
- Measure average wall draw. Use a plug-in electricity usage monitor with the PC running the workload you want to estimate. A power supply’s rated capacity is not its ongoing consumption. A PC-only reading excludes an independently powered monitor and peripherals; measure those too or add their consumption separately.
- Set the runtime. For overnight use, multiply by the actual hours per night and number of nights. For continuous operation, use 24 hours per day, or 8,760 hours in a 365-day year.
- Use your applicable electricity rate. For a bill estimate, use the price per kWh that applies to your household, rather than assuming a national average applies to you.
For a continuous 24-hour schedule, the formulas are:
- Per day: watts ÷ 1,000 × 24 × rate per kWh.
- Per average month: watts ÷ 1,000 × 730 × rate per kWh. For a specific bill month, use 24 × the number of days in that month instead.
- Per year: watts ÷ 1,000 × 8,760 × rate per kWh.
What it costs at a U.S. reference rate
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reports a 2025 average residential electricity price of 17.30¢ per kWh, based on preliminary 2025 data published in 2026. This is a national reference point, not a household-specific tariff. EIA notes that “Electricity prices vary by locality based on the availability of power plants and fuels, local fuel costs, and pricing regulations.” EIA: Prices and factors affecting prices; EIA: Electric Power Monthly.
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At that rate, each continuously drawn watt costs about $1.52 per year. The examples below are calculations, not measurements of a particular gaming PC. The 20 W, 40 W, and 80 W inputs are illustrative scenarios, not established typical draws for YouTube playback.
| Average wall draw | Energy at 24/7 runtime | Approximate annual cost at 17.30¢/kWh |
|---|---|---|
| 20 W | 175.2 kWh | $30.25 |
| 40 W | 350.4 kWh | $60.62 |
| 80 W | 700.8 kWh | $121.24 |
| 100 W | 876 kWh | $151.55 |
Actual totals can differ because your measured average draw and electricity rate may differ from these assumptions. The EIA reports 2025 prices across customer types ranging from 8.20¢ per kWh in North Dakota to 35.72¢ in Hawaii; that range is not limited to residential customers, so it should not be treated as a residential comparison.
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Why a gaming PC has no one “YouTube loop” wattage
A computer’s draw varies with its components and what it is doing. Playing a video, encoding or streaming it, gaming, idling, and sleeping are different workloads. A GPU’s draw alone is not the total for the PC, and a PC-only measurement is not the total for a setup that also runs a monitor or other equipment. For a useful estimate, measure the complete equipment you intend to leave on, under the relevant workload.
A 2019 Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory report modeled a gaming computer plus display at 1,394 kWh per year, based on an average of 4.4 hours per day in gaming mode. That is a dated modeled gaming-and-display profile—not a current universal average, a measurement of your equipment, or a 24/7 YouTube-loop estimate. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory report.
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Overnight use versus leaving it on all day
For overnight-only use, do not apply a 24/7 annual figure. Multiply measured watts by the hours you actually run each night and by the number of nights in the period, then apply your rate. For example, if your measured average is 40 W and you run the PC for 8 hours each night for 30 nights, it uses 9.6 kWh: 0.040 kW × 8 × 30. Multiply 9.6 by your own price per kWh for the estimated cost.
If the PC runs every hour of every day, use 8,760 hours for a 365-day year. The monthly estimate using 730 hours is an average-month shortcut; a particular month has a different number of hours.
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Or let it run in the cloud
If the goal is a continuous YouTube loop, StreamNeo can run uploaded videos from the cloud, so your home PC and internet connection do not need to stay on for the stream. Upload a recording or create a playlist, add your YouTube stream key once, and go live. It streams your uploads as made, up to 4K 60fps, at one price per slot regardless of quality, and automatically recovers if YouTube drops the stream. The first day is free with no card required; it is one free day per account. Monthly pricing is $9.99 per month. StreamNeo is for YouTube streams of uploaded videos, not live camera feeds. See StreamNeo, then start your free first day.
Quick Recap
Best Value
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- Cool Comfort: Enjoy a stable surface with our lap desk's dual bolster cushion, designed for comfort and airflow, keeping your lap cool during extended use.
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Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
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