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Monthly Electricity Cost of a 24/7 YouTube Stream on a Dell OptiPlex Micro

By Freedom251 Team · · 3 min read

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There is no single monthly electricity cost for a 24/7 YouTube stream on a Dell OptiPlex Micro: the exact model, its average power draw while streaming, and your electricity rate all matter. Measure the computer’s average power at the wall during the actual stream, then multiply its monthly energy use by your delivered price per kilowatt-hour (kWh).

Calculate the cost from the power used while streaming

For a 30-day month, a computer that averages W watts at the wall uses W × 0.72 kWh. To estimate its electricity cost, multiply that energy by your delivered price per kWh:

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Monthly cost = average wall watts × 24 × days ÷ 1,000 × price per kWh

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Use the actual number of days if you are estimating a month that is not 30 days. The formula measures electricity for the equipment included in your wall-power measurement; add peripherals only if you include them in that measurement.

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Illustrative 30-day costs using a U.S. average

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported a 2025 residential average electricity price of 17.30¢ per kWh. At that rate, one continuous watt costs about $0.12 over 30 days. The scenarios below are arithmetic examples—not measurements of an OptiPlex streaming YouTube—and use the EIA national average rather than an individual household’s bill rate. Rounding can cause totals to differ by a cent. EIA electricity data

Illustrative average wall draw Energy in 30 days Example cost at 17.30¢/kWh
10 W 7.2 kWh About $1.25
20 W 14.4 kWh About $2.49
40 W 28.8 kWh About $4.98

The EIA figure is a U.S. annual residential average, not a quote for a particular account. It includes delivered-electricity costs such as generation, transmission, distribution, taxes, and fees; the rate on your own bill is the better input when available. EIA reported a 2025 range of 8.20¢ per kWh in North Dakota to 35.72¢ in Hawaii across all utility customer types—not a residential-only state range. Local rates and customer categories differ. EIA electricity data

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  • Get reliable performance from the Intel Core i5-8500T 2.1GHz processor.
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  • Operating System: Windows 11 Pro 64 Bit-Multi-Language Supports.

Measure the OptiPlex during the real stream

  1. Measure at the wall. Use a plug-in electricity meter that reports watts or average power. Measure the PC while it is actually running the stream, with the same resolution, encoding settings, and peripherals you intend to use.
  2. Allow the stream to settle. Take an average over a representative period rather than treating a momentary reading as the full-day workload. If the workload changes substantially, measure across those conditions.
  3. Apply your rate. Convert the measured average with watts × 24 × days ÷ 1,000, then multiply by your delivered price per kWh. If your bill has multiple time-of-use rates, estimate separately for the hours charged at each rate.

For comparisons between computers or setups, measure average wall watts under the same stream workload and include the same equipment in each measurement. Then apply the same operating hours and electricity rate.

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Why published OptiPlex figures do not give the streaming cost

“Dell OptiPlex Micro” covers different models and configurations, and the information available for two examples does not establish their power draw during a 24/7 YouTube stream.

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  • OptiPlex Micro 7010: ENERGY STAR’s certification record lists, for its reported Category I1 configuration, short idle at 7.7 W, long idle at 1.3 W, sleep at 1.3 W, off at 0.3 W, and model TEC at 26.8 kWh. These are certification-record figures for specified test categories, not measurements of a live-stream workload. The record’s publication date is not shown. ENERGY STAR certified computers
  • OptiPlex 3070 Micro: Dell lists a 65 W power supply with 87% average efficiency. That describes the supply’s rating and efficiency, not the computer’s observed consumption while streaming. It should not be multiplied by 720 hours and presented as measured monthly use. Dell OptiPlex 3070 Micro specifications

What can change the bill

  • Actual average draw: Processor load, video processing, stream settings, and connected peripherals can affect the measured system input.
  • Operating time: The 0.72 multiplier applies to a 30-day month at 24 hours per day. Substitute the real number of days or hours for other schedules.
  • Electricity tariff: Use the applicable delivered rate from your bill where possible. A national or state average is only a benchmark, and a time-of-use plan may charge different rates at different times.
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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.

24/7 live streamDell OptiPlex Microelectricity costpower consumptionYouTube streaming

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