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At 24/7 operation, yearly electricity cost is average wall power in watts × 8.76 × your electricity price in dollars per kWh. Using the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s 2025 residential average of 17.30¢/kWh, illustrative averages of 10 W, 20 W, and 35 W would cost about $15.15, $30.31, and $53.04 per year, respectively. Those are calculation scenarios—not measured results for a particular Intel mini PC or FFmpeg setup.
Estimate the yearly electricity bill
For a machine running all year, use:
Annual cost = average wall watts ÷ 1,000 × 8,760 × electricity price per kWh
The 8,760 figure is the number of hours in a 365-day year. Use the all-in marginal electricity price from your own bill, expressed in dollars per kilowatt-hour. For example, enter 0.20 for a rate of $0.20/kWh.
| Average wall power | Annual energy at 24/7 operation | Yearly cost at $0.173/kWh |
|---|---|---|
| 10 W | 87.6 kWh | $15.15 |
| 20 W | 175.2 kWh | $30.31 |
| 35 W | 306.6 kWh | $53.04 |
The electricity rate in this example is the EIA’s 2025 U.S. residential average, reported in its 2026 publication of preliminary annual data. Rates vary by location, so your bill may produce a materially different result. The wattage values are examples to show how the calculation changes; they are not benchmarks for an Intel mini PC.
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If you stream for less than a full year
Substitute your actual annual operating hours for 8,760:
Annual cost = average wall watts ÷ 1,000 × annual operating hours × dollars per kWh
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This estimates electricity for the computer only. It excludes the mini PC’s purchase price, internet service, cooling, and any other equipment.
Measure the mini PC instead of guessing
The most useful input is the complete computer’s average draw at the wall while it is doing the intended streaming job. A plug-in electricity usage monitor can measure whole-system power; measure the mini PC under a representative FFmpeg workload rather than relying on a brief idle reading.
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- Connect the mini PC’s power supply through the meter and record its wall draw while the system is idle, as a baseline.
- Run the intended FFmpeg stream with the actual input, output settings, resolution, frame rate, codec, and hardware-acceleration path. Allow the workload to settle, then observe power over a representative period.
- Use the representative average watts from the meter in the formula above, along with your local electricity price and expected annual operating hours.
No measured wall-power figure is established for an unspecified Intel mini PC running an unspecified FFmpeg YouTube stream. The model, driver, FFmpeg build, media, and encoder settings can all affect the result, so a measured average is more useful than a generic wattage claim.
Why Intel mini PC wattage varies
TDP is not the electricity meter reading
Intel defines thermal design power (TDP) as a design target associated with a theoretical maximum load; it is not the same as measured whole-system wall draw. Intel also notes that power consumption is lower under lower loads and can temporarily exceed TDP in some conditions. A processor’s advertised TDP therefore cannot be plugged into the electricity formula as though it were the mini PC’s average draw.
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FFmpeg settings and acceleration matter
FFmpeg can read live inputs, filter or transcode media, and write outputs. Its documentation includes Intel Quick Sync Video acceleration, and Intel’s graphics media stack supports hardware-accelerated video encoding, decoding, and processing in FFmpeg through paths including VAAPI and Intel Media SDK/oneVPL. The available codecs and usable acceleration depend on the particular Intel GPU, its driver, the FFmpeg build, and the selected encoder. Hardware acceleration can change where work is performed, but it does not supply a universal power figure: measure the complete system with the settings you plan to use.
For a useful comparison between two configurations, keep the workload and conditions consistent: use the same resolution, frame rate, codec, source, annual hours, and electricity rate, and note whether hardware acceleration is enabled. Compare whole-system wall watts with whole-system wall watts; do not treat CPU package power or TDP as equivalent measurements.
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What this cost estimate includes—and what it does not
- Included: estimated electricity for the mini PC, based on average wall power, operating hours, and the electricity rate you enter.
- Not included: the computer’s purchase cost, internet service, cooling, and other streaming equipment.
- Not established: a single annual cost for all Intel mini PCs or a measured draw for a particular FFmpeg configuration. Your own wall measurement and bill rate are needed for that.
Or let it run in the cloud
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Quick Recap
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.
