The cheapest way to keep a prerecorded fireplace video live on YouTube depends on your PC’s measured power use and your local electricity rate. Calculate the home-PC electricity cost from average wall draw, then compare it with a managed cloud service’s fee. At the U.S. 2025 residential average of 17.30¢/kWh, an assumed continuous 50 W setup costs about $6.23 in electricity over 30 days; StreamNeo’s listed monthly plan costs $9.99 per month. Those figures compare electricity with a service fee, not every cost or responsibility.
Calculate the home PC’s electricity cost
Use the average wall draw of the complete setup while it is doing the actual streaming job—not the computer’s processor rating or a generic PC wattage. Include equipment that stays on specifically for the stream, such as a monitor, speakers, or networking gear. If you can switch off a display, do not count its normal operating draw for hours when it is off.
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- Measure average watts. Use a plug-in electricity meter rated for your outlet and equipment. Measure the complete setup during the intended workload, and follow the meter maker’s safety instructions. A measured result for your own setup is more useful than an assumed wattage.
- Set the runtime. A 30-day month of continuous streaming is 24 × 30 = 720 hours. A 365-day year is 24 × 365 = 8,760 hours.
- Convert watt-hours to kilowatt-hours. Multiply watts by hours, then divide by 1,000. A kilowatthour is 1,000 watts expended for one hour, as the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) glossary explains.
- Multiply by your electricity price. Use the applicable per-kWh rate from your bill. If your bill has time-of-use pricing, use the rate that applies during the hours the PC runs.
Formula: average watts × hours ÷ 1,000 × electricity price per kWh.
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The table uses the EIA’s 2025 U.S. residential average of $0.173/kWh. Each wattage is an assumed constant average for arithmetic—not a typical PC reading or a measured result. Costs are rounded to cents.
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| Assumed average draw | Energy in 30 days | Electricity cost in 30 days | Energy in 365 days | Electricity cost in 365 days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 W | 7.2 kWh | $1.25 | 87.6 kWh | $15.15 |
| 50 W | 36 kWh | $6.23 | 438 kWh | $75.77 |
| 100 W | 72 kWh | $12.46 | 876 kWh | $151.55 |
| 150 W | 108 kWh | $18.68 | 1,314 kWh | $227.32 |
These are electricity-only calculations. Your bill may include fixed charges, and its relevant marginal rate may differ from the benchmark. If the computer is already on for other work, compare the stream’s incremental power use rather than charging the stream for the entire PC’s electricity.
Use a local electricity rate, not a global average
EIA reports a 2025 U.S. residential average of 17.30¢/kWh and a commercial average of 13.41¢/kWh. Its 2025 annual average retail prices across all customer types ranged from 8.20¢/kWh in North Dakota to 35.72¢/kWh in Hawaii. EIA attributes the figures to Electric Power Monthly tables using February 2026 preliminary data. These are U.S. statistics, not tariffs for other countries or a substitute for your bill; see EIA’s explanation of electricity prices.
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At the same assumed 50 W draw, 720 hours use 36 kWh. The electricity cost will therefore be $6.23 at $0.173/kWh, but it will change in direct proportion to your rate. A reader outside the U.S. should enter their own price per kWh in the formula rather than convert the U.S. benchmark into a supposed local average.
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A home PC runs the stream using power and internet service at your location; you remain responsible for the computer, connection, and any restart or monitoring work. A managed cloud loop instead broadcasts uploaded media from a provider’s infrastructure, so the computer used to upload and configure the stream need not stay on. Its subscription is not directly comparable to electricity alone: it buys a service and has its own scope and dependencies.
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| Route | Cost basis | What stays on at home | Work and dependencies |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home PC | Measured average watts × runtime × local electricity rate; hardware and internet costs are additional if relevant. | The PC and any other equipment left on specifically for the broadcast. | You handle setup, streaming software, home power and internet, and monitoring or recovery. |
| Managed cloud loop | Published subscription fee for the selected service and billing period. | No streaming computer needs to remain on after upload and setup; internet is still needed to configure the service. | The service handles the cloud playback workflow, but the broadcast still depends on the provider and its connection to YouTube. |
| Generic cloud VM or custom stack | Provider-specific charges for compute, storage, outbound data, and any other configured services. | No home streaming computer, though setup and administration remain yours. | You configure playback and encoding, estimate the architecture’s charges, and manage monitoring, restarts, and maintenance. |
Do not use a managed streaming subscription as an estimate for an AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud VM. A VM total depends on its configuration and runtime; calculate it with the relevant provider’s pricing tools before choosing that route. No matching VM configuration or verified generic total is established here. The comparison also excludes the electricity used to deliver video to viewers; it covers the broadcaster’s home electricity or cloud-originated stream, not audience delivery.
StreamNeo: a managed option for uploaded YouTube video
StreamNeo is a cloud service for keeping a YouTube channel live from uploaded videos. Upload a recording or build a playlist, add your YouTube stream key, and start the broadcast; StreamNeo loops the video in the cloud, so your computer can be off. Its listed monthly plan is $9.99 per month. The price is vendor-published and was checked on October 3, 2026; check the live pricing page for current terms before buying.
Rank #4
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At the EIA benchmark rate and 720 hours, that monthly fee equals the electricity cost of roughly 80 W of continuous use: $9.99 ÷ ($0.173 × 720 ÷ 1,000). This is only an electricity-cost crossover. It does not include PC purchase or internet costs, taxes, other service limits, reliability differences, or the value of keeping a computer available for other tasks.
What changes the result beyond the bill
Power, internet, and recovery
A home setup depends on local power and internet staying available. A cloud service removes the need to keep the streaming computer at home, but it still depends on the provider and YouTube connection. Neither route should be treated as a guarantee of uninterrupted broadcasting without evidence for that specific service and arrangement.
Best Value
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- 16GB RAM MEMORY & 512GB STORAGE - GMKtec Nucbox G3 Ultra mini computer is prebuilt with 16GB LPDDR4 RAM at 3200 MT/s, you will enjoy a speedier experience with Built-in 512GB M.2 SATA Hard Drive. Our mini desktop pc boots up in seconds, work on multiple browser tabs, software applications and quickly transfers files. There is a primary slot and secondary expansion storage. Primary slot is M.2 2280 PCIE and secondary slot is M.2 2280 SATA.
- RICH INTERFACE - Nucbox pentium mini computer is equipped with 3* USB 3.2 Gen2 ports, up to 10Gbps/S, 1*USB 2.0, HDMI(4K@60Hz)*2, 3.5mm Audio Jack. Supports WiFi 6, and Gigabit Ethernet RJ45 2.5GbE network connectivity, Bluetooth 5.2. This Mini PC supports multiple device connection and can be used with servers, monitoring equipment, office equipment, displays, projectors, televisions, etc.
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- UPGRADED COOLING FAN - The G3 Ultra has upgraded the cooling fan to reduce fan noise and thermals. We are using an upgraded thermal paste as well to help reduce heat on the CPU.
Efficiency figures are not streaming measurements
The U.S. Department of Energy’s FEMP guidance, updated in December 2024, gives annual-use examples of 12 kWh for a “best available” desktop, 52 kWh for an ENERGY STAR example, and 208 kWh for a less-efficient example. Those procurement comparisons derive from December 2024 product-list and market data, assume 11¢/kWh for annual energy cost, and caution that actual savings vary with use. They are not measurements of a computer streaming continuously, so they cannot replace a wall-draw reading. See DOE’s computer purchasing guidance.
Rights and platform rules follow the content
Moving a prerecorded fireplace video to a cloud service does not provide permission to use it. YouTube’s Livestream terms and conditions state: “The Live Content must comply with the YouTube Community Guidelines.” They also require the content provider to represent and warrant that it has necessary rights for exploitation on Google services, including music licensing rights where applicable. Confirm that you have rights to the footage, audio, and any music before broadcasting.
Or let it run in the cloud
With StreamNeo, upload your fireplace video or playlist, add your YouTube stream key, and go live. The service loops the uploaded video from the cloud, so nothing has to stay on at home. Every slot streams what you uploaded at any quality up to 4K 60fps for one flat price per slot, with no re-encoding or quality tiers; it can automatically recover if YouTube drops the stream. The first day is free with no card. The monthly option is $9.99 per month. Start your free StreamNeo day.
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.
