- According to industry stats, a standard 3D printer generally uses 50 watts per hour.
- This adds up quick because of the non-stop nature of most printing operations. It can result in a large power bill.
- Another calculation we’ve seen calculates that the average 3D printer that has a hotend temperature of 205°C and a heated bed temperature of 60°C draws 70 watts. This would require 0.7kWh, which is approximately 9 cents for a 10-hour print. Your printer’s size and temperature will determine how much electric power you use.
- With a larger 3d printer, one tester found that the average power consumption was 189.52 Watts or. 018952 Kilowatts. This means that it would cost $0.023 an hour to run the printer (Source)
3D printers are becoming increasingly popular, especially at home. However, this has led to some people wondering how much electricity3D printers use up. This can cause concern as there are reports of users who have gone over their energy usage limits because of printing too many things or leaving their Printer on all day.
This article aims to provide information on the electricity consumption rates for three common kinds of 3d Printer, which will help you determine if your Printer is using too much power and whether it would be better to turn it off when not in use.
How Much Electricity Does A Normal 3D Printer Use?
3D printers come in two main varieties: filament-based and powder-based. Filament 3D printers use plastic Filament, which is melted and then layered onto the printing bed, building up an object in layers until complete. Powder 3D printers use several different materials such as metal, nylon, ceramic, or even wax to create various shapes and sizes.
3d Printer Parts
Many factors determine how much power a 3D printer uses when turned on, with one of these being the type of material used to manufacture the product. According to research by Science Direct, filament-based printers tend to consume between 0.1 kWh per hour (for small models) and 4 kWh/h (for large models), while powder-based printers typically consume 0.7 kWh/h.
Thus, it is evident that filament-based printers are more power-efficient than powder-based 3D printers. Other factors that influence energy usage rates for these machines include the number of materials used in the printing process, whether or not there is an auto bed leveling feature and how fast the nozzle moves across the printing surface.
Powder-based vs. Filament Based Printer
Another thing to consider is how much electricity your country uses per kilowatt-hour (kWh). This varies depending on where you live, with Denmark using around 16 kWh per day, whereas other nations such as China only use around 4 kWh. It’s also worth noting that this will affect the results of any calculation you make regarding 3D printer power usage.
Printer Power Usage Electricity Calculator
For example, let’s imagine that a user is considering purchasing either an Ultimaker 2+ or a Lulzbot Mini AO-100, both of which are very similar in terms of specifications. These printers can be purchased on Amazon for $1,300 and $750, respectively, suggesting that there might not be much price difference between them.
However, if they were to use these numbers to calculate how much electricity each user based on the average for their (in this case European) country, the Lulzbot Mini AO-100 would seem to be using 33% more electricity than the Ultimaker 2+.
Usage
Another factor that plays into how much an appliance uses up is how much it’s used. In reality, however, after taking into account that Denmark uses around 16 kWh a day and China only 4 kWh a day, a user in Denmark would need to print almost twice as much with the Lulzbot before it became cheaper at an energy level of 0.1 (which is around 1 hour per week).
Not many users are likely to use their 3D printers this often, making the Ultimaker 2+ the better choice for most people looking for an efficient printer.
One study has shown that when a 3D printing machine is in operation, the rate of energy it consumes increases exponentially with time. This means that if your machine runs for 6 hours per day, you can expect its electricity usage rate to be six times higher than it would be if it were only running for one hour.
Therefore, users who own printers that are in use for extended periods need to pay close attention to their monthly electricity bills and the amount of power their printers are using.
The only way to accurately determine how much electricity 3D printers are using up is to use a kWh meter, an energy measuring device. Even though this may not be the most affordable option, however, it will let you see exactly what your machine uses and help you make the right decisions regarding its printing habits.
Hello, my name’s Rush Chapman. I’m a 3D printing enthusiast. I started this site to help people choose 3D printing projects and select the best 3D printer for your needs, whether you’re a hobbyist or a pro!
