How Much Does It Cost to Run a Computer Monitor in California? (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 $0.010 per hour, or about $2.50 per month at 8 hours a day in California. Cheap to run
| Wattage | Per hour | Per day | Per month | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low 15 W | $0.005 | $0.042 | $1.25 | $15.22 |
| Typical 30 W | $0.010 | $0.083 | $2.50 | $30.43 |
| High 80 W | $0.028 | $0.22 | $6.67 | $81.15 |
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 California, with electricity at 34.7¢ per kWh (source: EIA Table 5.6.A, 2026-06), a typical computer monitor costs $0.010 per hour and about $30.43 per year at 8 hours a day. That is about 89% more than the national average for the US ($1.32 per month), because electricity in California costs 34.7¢ per kWh against 18.3¢ nationally. Each $1.00 of electricity buys roughly 96.0 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 ($1.52) 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
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
Canadian provinces
Related appliances
- Printer (Inkjet or Laser)30 W typical
- Phone Charger10 W typical
- Cable or Fiber Modem8 W typical
- Home Server or NAS40 W typical
Use the generic electricity cost calculator · Which uses more? Take the quiz