Home › Appliances › Home Office › Computer Monitor › Australia
How Much Does It Cost to Run a Computer Monitor in Australia? (2026)
A 24 inch office monitor draws around 20 to 30 watts. Large 4K or high-refresh gaming monitors can reach 60 to 80 watts, comparable to the computer they are attached to.
A typical computer monitor (30 W) costs A$0.010 per hour, or about A$2.52 per month at 8 hours a day in Australia. Cheap to run
| Wattage | Per hour | Per day | Per month | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low (15 W) | A$0.005 | A$0.042 | A$1.26 | A$15.33 |
| Typical (30 W) | A$0.010 | A$0.084 | A$2.52 | A$30.66 |
| High (80 W) | A$0.028 | A$0.22 | A$6.72 | A$81.76 |
Formula: watts ÷ 1000 × hours × price per kWh. Typical use is 8 h/day ≈ 88 kWh per year.
In Australia, with electricity at A$0.35 per kWh (source: AER Default Market Offer 2026–27, 2026-07), a typical computer monitor costs A$0.010 per hour and about A$30.66 per year at 8 hours a day. Each A$1.00 of electricity buys roughly 95.2 hours of use.
How to lower the cost of running a computer monitor
- Lower brightness. Most monitors ship far brighter than needed indoors.
- Set the display to sleep after 5 to 10 minutes idle.
- Turn off a second monitor when not in use.
In standby it draws about 0.5 W, which adds roughly 4 kWh (A$1.53) per year if it is never unplugged.
Frequently asked questions
How much electricity does a monitor use per day?
About 0.25 kWh for 8 hours on a typical 30 watt monitor.
Do monitors use power when off?
About half a watt in standby.
Does a bigger monitor use more electricity?
Yes. Power scales roughly with screen area and brightness.
Cost by region
- United States (average)
- California
- Texas
- New York
- Florida
- Canada (average)
- United Kingdom
- Germany
- France
- Australia
- India