A useful benchmark is 22 watts for a laptop streaming video. If a laptop averaged that much power continuously, it would use about 0.528 kWh a day, or 15.84 kWh in a 30-day month. At an illustrative electricity rate of $0.15 per kWh, that works out to roughly $0.08 a day or $2.38 per 30-day month. These are calculations from an estimate—not a measurement of every laptop or a YouTube-specific test.
The extra cost on your bill depends on how much more power playback uses than your laptop’s normal state, your setup, and your local electricity rate. On battery, continuous playback will eventually drain the charge; there is no reliable single runtime without measuring your laptop’s actual draw and usable battery capacity.
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What the 22-watt estimate does—and does not—tell you
The Carbon Trust’s 2021 appendix gives an estimated laptop streaming draw of 22 W, attributed to Singh et al. (2019). It is a useful starting point for an estimate, but it is not a controlled, current measurement of every laptop streaming YouTube. The available sources do not establish a universal YouTube-specific wall-power figure or a universal difference between idle power and playback power. Carbon Trust, Carbon impact of video streaming — Appendix.
Actual consumption depends on the laptop and its settings, including screen brightness, video settings, network activity, and background tasks. Microsoft’s Windows battery-assessment guidance recommends consistent test conditions, including a 150-nit screen setting. Microsoft’s Surface battery test, meanwhile, describes playback of a local 1080p file; that is not the same scenario as watching YouTube over Wi-Fi. Microsoft Learn: Local Video Playback · Microsoft Support: Surface battery testing and estimated performance.
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Estimate the electricity cost for your own tariff
Use average power at the wall, in watts, rather than the maximum wattage printed on the laptop’s power adapter. The adapter rating describes its capacity, not necessarily what the laptop draws during playback.
- Convert watts and hours to energy: kWh = watts × hours ÷ 1,000.
- Multiply by your electricity rate: cost = kWh × your price per kWh.
Using the 22 W estimate for uninterrupted playback:
- Daily energy: 22 W × 24 hours ÷ 1,000 = 0.528 kWh.
- Energy for a 30-day month: 0.528 kWh × 30 = 15.84 kWh.
- At an assumed rate of $0.15/kWh: about $0.079 per day and $2.38 per 30-day month.
The $0.15 rate is only an illustration, not a typical or recommended tariff. Electricity prices vary by location, supplier, and plan, so substitute the rate on your own bill. The 30-day month is used only to make the arithmetic convenient.
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Find the extra cost, not just the total playback cost
If you want to know what streaming adds compared with leaving the laptop in its ordinary state, measure both states and subtract the baseline:
Incremental kWh = (playback watts − baseline watts) × hours ÷ 1,000
Incremental cost = incremental kWh × your tariff
For example, if you measure the laptop’s playback and baseline draw, the difference between those readings—not the full playback reading—is the power attributable to streaming above that baseline. No universal idle-versus-YouTube difference is established, so use measurements from your own setup rather than assuming one.
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Measure your laptop at the wall
A plug-in electricity meter is optional, but it can give you a more useful estimate than applying a general benchmark. It measures the combined laptop-and-adapter draw at the wall, including conversion losses.
- Connect the laptop’s power adapter through the meter and record the average watts after the reading settles.
- Measure playback under the conditions you actually use, noting screen brightness, stream resolution, Wi-Fi or other network connection, and whether other apps are running.
- Measure your normal or idle baseline separately under comparable conditions. Subtract that average from the playback average to estimate the additional watts.
- Apply the energy and cost formulas above for the number of hours you stream and the rate on your bill.
For a meaningful comparison, keep conditions consistent. Screen brightness, video resolution, hardware, network use, and background tasks can all affect the result. Microsoft’s Windows guidance is designed around controlled battery testing, including a 150-nit display setting; your everyday YouTube use may differ from that test setup. Microsoft Learn: Local Video Playback.
What continuous streaming means for battery runtime
On battery, a continuous stream will eventually use the available charge. A rough runtime estimate is usable battery capacity in watt-hours divided by average power in watts, but the result is only an approximation: discharge varies with the laptop’s design, software activity, and power-management settings. ASUS notes that video playback can draw more power than general word processing. ASUS Notebook Battery Information Center.
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A local-video battery test should not be treated as an exact prediction for YouTube over Wi-Fi. Microsoft’s Surface test uses local 1080p video and cautions that battery life varies with settings, usage, and other factors. Its published test conditions apply to the named Surface devices, not to every laptop or streaming setup. Microsoft Support: Surface battery testing and estimated performance.
Does leaving the laptop plugged in damage its battery?
The available manufacturer guidance does not establish a specific amount of battery damage from running a 24/7 stream while plugged in, or a universal battery-aging rate for this schedule. Battery behavior and charge-management features differ by laptop model. ASUS describes charge-protection behavior on some systems, while noting that battery life decline varies with design and use. Check the support guidance for your exact model and use a built-in charge limit if it offers one. Keep the laptop’s airflow unobstructed as ordinary device care. ASUS Notebook Battery Information Center.
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