Laptops are an essential part of today’s world. As technology has advanced, so have the requirements for laptops.
One specification that is central to modern computing power is laptop wattage. What you need to know about laptop wattage will be discussed in this article, along with some tips on how to find the best laptop for your needs.
What is laptop wattage and why do you need to know it?
Laptop wattage is the power requirement of a laptop. This is usually measured in watts and you need to know it to ensure that your laptop has enough power to function properly.
There are two main reasons why you need to be aware of your laptop’s wattage: and that is, overheating and compatibility.
Overheating can damage your computer, so it’s important to make sure that your laptop has enough wattage to stay cool.
While compatibility is not as big of a concern as it used to be, you still need to make sure that your laptop has enough wattage to support the devices you plan on using with it.
Additionally, some laptops have higher wattage requirements than others.
If you try to use a low-wattage laptop with a high-powered device like a gaming console or external hard drive, it may not function properly
How do I find my laptop’s wattage?
Finding out your laptop’s wattage is easy. All you need is the model number of your computer and you should be able to find the wattage on the manufacturer’s website.
If you don’t know your laptop model number, there are a few other ways for finding it out: but they generally require more time and effort than simply checking online.
One way is by going through your computer settings or system information and looking up its specs.
Another way is to use a third-party program or website that can scan your computer and tell you its wattage.
What should I do if my laptop doesn’t have enough wattage?
If you determine that your laptop does not have enough wattage, there are a few things you can do: upgrade the power supply, change the laptop, or use an external power adapter.
Upgrading the power supply is a relatively easy process and can be done by anyone with basic computer knowledge.
Changing your laptop may be a more difficult task, but it’s still possible.
If you decide to go this route, make sure that you do your research first and find a laptop that has enough wattage for your needs.
You can also use an external power adapter to support devices with high wattage requirements.
This is a safe and easy solution, so it’s recommended over the other two if you don’t want to risk damaging your computer or spending too much time finding out how to increase its battery life.
How many watts does a laptop use?
This answer depends on the make and model of your laptop. However, most laptops use between 15 and 80 watts.
Factors affecting the Energy Consumption in Laptops
There are many factors that affect how a laptop consumes energy or rather watts. There are things like; CPU, Graphics card, Screen brightness, type and brand of the laptop, the adaptor wattage etcetera.
Without further ado let’s briefly look at them one after another.
The CPU is
the Central Processing Unit, responsible for doing all the calculations and heavy lifting on a laptop. The more powerful the CPU, the more energy it will consume. So if you want to save on your laptops battery life or electricity bill, choose a model with a lower-powered CPU.
The Graphics Card
The Graphics card is another component that affects laptop wattage. It is responsible for displaying images on the screen.
The more powerful this component, the more energy it will need to run and hence consume.
So choose a laptop with an integrated graphics card or one that has low power consumption so you can save some of your battery life if not electricity bill too.
The Screen Brightness
Do you know how they say that the brighter the light, the more heat it gives off? It is true for screens as well.
A laptop with a very bright screen will consume more watts than one with a lower brightness setting.
So if you want to save on your laptops wattage, adjust the screen brightness accordingly.
Type and Brand of Laptop
Different types of laptops have different wattage. A netbook, for example, has a lower-powered processor and screen than an Ultrabook or MacBook Air so it will consume fewer watts even when it’s running at 100%.
The Adaptor Wattage
Most laptops have adaptors that range from 65 to 90 watts. So you should know how many watts your adaptor is to know how many watts your laptop consumes.
But if you use a lower watt adaptor than what your laptop requires, it will not charge and may even damage the battery over time so be mindful of that.
How to calculate Watts Consumed by a Laptop?
Watts consumed by a laptop can be calculated by multiplying the voltage of the battery by the amperage. (Watt=AxV)
For example, if your laptop runs on a 12-volt battery and consumes .85 amps, then it uses (12 x .85) watts or about 11 watts.
WikiHow has demonstrated 3 easy ways on how you can calculate watts.
How many watts does a 17 inch laptop use?
According to the Newyork times, a laptop will consume about 4.5 Kilowatts hour within one week.
This means that it consumes 0.6429 Kilowatts hour per day or rather a 235Killowatts Hour per year.
If you will be using heavy programs at the time of charging then expect the wattage to be more than this.
Still remember the more watts your computer will consume the more bills you will have to pay.
Is 45W enough for MacBook Pro?
First and foremost MacBook Pro comes with an 85W power adaptor. However, studies have shown that a 65W adaptor can be used on MacBook Pro without any problem.
But as far as a 45W is concerned I don’t think it is compatible with the laptop.
Nevertheless, with my research, I have not seen anyone use a 45W of power with a MacBook pro.
Read more on this apple discussion forum
Can I use a 65 watt charger on a 90 watt laptop?
Yes, you can use a 65-watt charger on a 90 watt laptop. There are compatible chargers available.
However, it is not recommended to use a charger that has lower wattage than the laptop battery as this may result in a power shortage or even damage your device’s battery.
In addition to this, It is recommended that you don’t use a 19 Volt ac adapter on an 18.5 Volt laptop, right.
Let’s face it: Because it’s so powerful and would burn through the port or motherboard before and there’s no sense in taking such a risk
Our Conclusion: How many watts does a laptop use?
The amount of wattage a laptop uses is dependent on the specifications, such as screen size and processor type.
Newer models are more energy-efficient than older ones due to advancements in technology.
Overall, most laptops use less than 100 watts per hour when idle; however, they can consume up to 300 watts during heavy usage periods like gaming or video editing.
A typical battery charge lasts about 4 hours for newer laptops with Intel Core processors (around 10% longer if you’ve got an AMD Pro Processor).
This means that even if your computer gets really hot after long periods of use, it will probably continue operating for at least this length of time before shutting off automatically due to overheating protection.
