How much does it cost to run a computer monitor?

At 40 watts used 8 hours a day, a computer monitor costs about $0.05 per day, $1.13 per month and $13.60 per year on an average rate of 17¢ per kWh — roughly 80 kWh and 32 kg of CO₂ over a year. Enter your own electricity rate and usage in the calculator above for a figure matched to your bill.

The actual power draw of your monitor varies dramatically based on how you use it rather than which model you own. Brightness is the single largest factor—running at 100 percent brightness can nearly double energy consumption compared to a comfortable 50 percent setting. Most office environments and homes have adequate ambient light that makes maximum brightness wasteful; adjusting your monitor to match your room's lighting conditions is one of the few free efficiency gains available. Panel size matters too, but less than people expect; a 27-inch monitor often draws only 10-15 watts more than a 24-inch, so upgrading to a larger screen for productivity reasons typically has minimal impact on total runtime cost.

The type of panel technology has become largely irrelevant from an energy perspective. IPS, VA, and TN panels all consume comparable amounts of power in modern designs. What does matter is the monitor's age and manufacturing standards. Monitors manufactured before 2015 often use 50-60 watts or more even at modest settings, while current EPEAT-certified or Energy Star labeled models typically hover in the 25-40 watt range. If your monitor is more than eight years old, the energy savings from replacement could outweigh the capital cost within a few years, especially in heavy-use environments.

Many people mistakenly believe that turning off a monitor's backlight with sleep mode significantly reduces costs, but in practice this provides minimal savings since the monitor already draws very little power in that state. The real opportunity lies in preventing unnecessary runtime altogether. Closing your monitor during lunch breaks, after work, or when stepping away for extended periods eliminates consumption entirely. A monitor turned on for eight hours daily but actively used for only six hours is wasting roughly 25 percent of its annual operating cost. Organizations and home offices that treat monitor shutdown as a standard practice often see measurable reductions in their electronics category spending.

When selecting a new monitor, ignore the 'power consumption' spec sheets published by manufacturers—they typically reflect lab conditions at minimal brightness and are rarely representative of real-world use. Instead, look for monitors with standard energy certifications (Energy Star, EPEAT Gold) and ask vendors specifically about power consumption at 75 percent brightness, which more closely matches how people actually work. Also consider your actual screen size needs rather than defaulting to the largest available; a 24-inch monitor is sufficient for most text-based work, spreadsheets, and typical office tasks, and the modest power savings compound over the monitor's 5-7 year lifespan. Matte or anti-glare screens are also worth considering because they reduce the need to increase brightness to combat reflections.

One often-overlooked factor is monitor count. Many professionals run two or three monitors simultaneously, and each additional display adds its full power draw to your daily consumption. Before expanding your setup, honestly assess whether multiple monitors genuinely improve your productivity or simply expand your workspace out of habit. For many roles, a single larger monitor or a well-organized single screen does the job. If you do use multiple displays, applying the brightness and shutdown discipline mentioned above becomes even more important, since small percentage savings multiply across three devices.