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Electricity consumption comparison for small business equipment
Each office has a variety of electronics and other equipment used day-in and day-out by employees. View the charts below to compare the electricity consumption of common office equipment. You'll notice some unlikely pieces of equipment paired against each other to show where office money is going and to provide insight into appliances that are using an unexpectedly large amount of electricity.
Electricity consumption comparison for small business equipment
Each office has a variety of electronics and other equipment used day-in and day-out by employees. View the charts below to compare the electricity consumption of common office equipment. You'll notice some unlikely pieces of equipment paired against each other to show where office money is going and to provide insight into appliances that are using an unexpectedly large amount of electricity.
Equipment |
Wattage per hour |
|---|---|
| Laptop/notebook | 25 |
| Laser printer | 250 |
The laser printer uses the most electricity in this comparison. Even though individual computers are used more often than printers in most offices, laptop or notebook computers (and even full desktop computers) tend to be more energy efficient than printers. Office printers are rarely turned off and usually sit around all day in standby mode, continuing to use electricity throughout the day and night. So even though you may use your computer all day and your printer only a few times, the printer is costing you more.
Source: U.S. Department of Energy
Equipment |
Wattage per hour |
|---|---|
| Laptop/notebook | 25 |
| Desktop | 75 |
Because laptops and notebooks are more energy efficient and often have fewer attached components, the electricity consumption of a laptop is about two-thirds that of a larger desktop, which typically includes a tower and monitor setup.
Source: CNET
Equipment |
Wattage per hour |
|---|---|
| Fax machine | 65-150 |
| Halogen light bulb | 300-500 |
A simple light bulb in this comparison uses much more electricity than the fax machine. Standard halogen bulbs give off a lot of light, so they require a higher wattage. Consider LED lights to reduce the wattage consumed by simple overhead lighting.
Source: California Energy Commission
Equipment |
Wattage per hour |
|---|---|
| Automatic drip filter coffee maker | 1,200 |
| Single-serve coffee maker | 1,500 |
Instead of heating up to produce one large pot of coffee like a regular coffee maker, single-serve coffee brewers (like Keurig-brand brewers) need to heat up the water each time you hit the start button, which uses more electricity than a regular coffee pot. Many people may push that button in a day. Plus, a traditional coffee maker produces several cups of coffee while a single-serve coffee maker only produces one cup of coffee at a time, so if several people were to use the single-serve machine throughout the day, the wattage would add up quickly over a course of a year. If only a few people drink coffee in your workplace, a single-serve coffee brewer might work fine. But if more than five people drink coffee regularly, it may be in your best interest to continue using a traditional drip coffee maker.
Source: ENERGY STAR (PDF)
Equipment |
Wattage per hour |
|---|---|
| Copier/scanner | 1,500 |
| Water cooler with hot water | 600 |
A copier/scanner could be one of highest electricity users in the whole office simply because it remains plugged in all day in standby mode. It also most likely gets used often. The water cooler does stay plugged in all day, but the hot water may not be used as repetitively. Adding a hot water feature to your water cooler is not an energy efficiency misstep in the grand scheme. It doesn't even use as much energy as a coffee maker.
Source: U.S. Department of Energy
If you're interested in finding more wattage information for several different types of appliances, the U.S. Department of Energy has a great energy estimator located here.