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How Much Does It Cost to Run a Computer Monitor in Alberta? (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 C$0.007 per hour, or about C$1.58 per month at 8 hours a day in Alberta. Cheap to run
| Wattage | Per hour | Per day | Per month | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low (15 W) | C$0.003 | C$0.026 | C$0.79 | C$9.64 |
| Typical (30 W) | C$0.007 | C$0.053 | C$1.58 | C$19.27 |
| High (80 W) | C$0.018 | C$0.14 | C$4.22 | C$51.39 |
Formula: watts ÷ 1000 × hours × price per kWh. Typical use is 8 h/day ≈ 88 kWh per year.
One day of a computer monitor (0.72 kWh) is the same electricity as
- 4.0km in an electric car
- 7.2hours of TV
- 16hours of a laptop
- 80hours of an LED bulb
In Alberta, with electricity at C$0.22 per kWh (source: Hydro-Québec 2025 comparison, 2025-04), a typical computer monitor costs C$0.007 per hour and about C$19.27 per year at 8 hours a day. That is about 57% more than the national average for Canada (C$1.01 per month), because electricity in Alberta costs C$0.22 per kWh against C$0.14 nationally. Each C$1.00 of electricity buys roughly 151.5 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 (C$0.96) 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
US states
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