How Many Watts Does a Laptop Charger Use? (2023)

Our laptops help us stay connected and productive any time of the day. However, this over-activeness can sometimes make your laptop battery run low, but that’s where the laptop charger saves the day. Now, you may ask, How Many Watts Does a Laptop Charger Use?

On average, your normal laptop charger uses between 60 to 60 watts. Moreover, processor-intensive gaming laptops can even consume a lot more than that. Also, the amount of power your charge will need depends on the laptop make, processor capability, graphics card, display settings, and screen.

This article has discussed all you need to know about laptop charger watt usage. Also, we’ve outlined a myriad of topics you’d love to know about laptop charger power consumption. Find more details below.  

Types of Laptops

Depending on the power consumption, there are two kinds of laptops, and we’d discuss them in the sections below.

1. Gaming Laptops

Gaming laptops are usually high-efficient computers that come with specifications that consume more power. Their heavy-duty specifications include hardware such as high-quality video graphics and superior core counts. These specifications are not power-friendly in any way.

Also, to enhance the computer’s appearance, these laptops usually come with colorful RGB accessories like a keyboard backlight—which also consumes its share of power. That’s why you rarely see this feature on your standard computer.

To complement the complex hardware it uses, these laptops have distinct vents and larger full-layout keypads. On the flip side, gaming laptops don’t come with large battery cells, meaning that they don’t stand a good chance of longevity on battery consumption and portability.

Also, note that gaming laptops generally have Type C power adapters and facilitate lightning charging to boost the charging capabilities of their batteries. These laptops require an average of 135 to 160 watts.

Some good gaming laptops include Acer Predator Helios 300 and MSI GF63 Thin 9SC-068, and Alienware M15 R6 Gaming Laptop.

2. Standard Laptops

The other type of laptop, based on power consumption, is the regular or standard laptop. This is a more cost-effective laptop in comparison to the gaming laptop. It’s smaller and lighter, and it also consumes lesser power because it uses smaller specifications.

Regular laptops are usually used to facilitate business work and other processor-intensive activities. But, they are still power-conservative and much more power-efficient than gaming laptops. This is partly because this kind of laptop lacks several features that are abundant in gaming computers. These features include unique and dedicated video graphics and a tailored ventilation system.

Also, you can charge this kind of laptop using a round-pin or type C power connector, which is more general for powering their lithium-based batteries. On the other hand, the standard laptop doesn’t come with a boost-charging capacity to help speed up the charging process of your laptop.

One good thing about the standard laptop is that it has a more efficient charging capacity that makes it last much longer than gaming laptops. Thus, it’s more portable than a gaming laptop. Additionally, the regular laptop needs 60 to 80 power watts from its laptop charger. This also depends on what you’re using the laptop for and the size of the battery in it.

New Sparky explains how many watts a laptop charger consumes in this link:

How many Watts Does a Laptop Charger Use?

It’s important to note that standard laptop chargers consume an average of 60 to 90 WH (watts per hour) via their charger. However, certain factors determine the consumption rate of your laptop charger, and we’d discuss that in the next section.

Factors That Affect the Power Consumption of a Laptop Charger

Noting that various factors affect your computer’s energy consumption, let’s consider them below.

CPU

The first thing that affects your laptop charger’s energy consumption is the CPU. CPUs with higher clock speeds will consume much more energy. This implies that such CPUs demand more power as they consume more power than those CPUs that consume smaller clock speeds.

This is so because the CPU requires both time and energy to transit its processor from one instruction step to another by following instructions. This transition is called the “clock cycle,” measured using frequency, expressed as hertz.

Higher frequencies require more energy from one step to another at a certain. Moreover, this implies that laptops with slower clock speeds are more conservative and require lesser power CPUs at higher frequencies.

Understanding how your CPU affects your laptop chargers will enable you to make wiser decisions when shopping for a new laptop. All the same, if you have a computer with a higher clock speed, then reduce the voltage and frequency settings for your computer’s processors.

Also, ensure that any software program you run on the system is compatible with all your updated computer specifications to minimize energy consumption.

Display Setting and Screen Size

One major misconception is that all laptop chargers consume the same level of power regardless. This is because laptops with higher screen resolutions will invariably use more power than laptops with lower resolutions.

In addition, most individuals don’t realize that your laptop’s brightness setting can affect its battery lifespan. So, regulating your screen brightness from 100% to 40% can save more than half the amount of battery life. Also, lower resolutions enable your laptop to charge faster.

One other thing to note is that your laptop display settings can also impact its power consumption. This is because the surface area of a laptop determines its power consumption. Brighter and more compacted pixels consume more power.

Also, the lifespan of your laptop is directly proportional to its overall power storage capacity and the amount of energy it consumes. A laptop with a low battery life will not charge effectively.

Video Graphics Card

The last and one of the most important components in your computer, especially a gaming laptop. Graphics card allows your video games to execute seamlessly, drawing the highest-quality animations and graphics on your screen.

A Graphics card is one of the most important computer components that allows you to use advanced video editing tools and video games. Now, how does it relate to your laptop consumption?

It’s true that the graphics card is an ideal component in the computer and has a great impact on the laptop charger’s power consumption. Computer graphics affect the amount of power consumed and affect electricity usage also. This is because the GPU creates more heat while you’re gaming.

That generates heat that will invariably transmit to the other regions in your computer, making them work more and consume more energy. This can also lead to increased electrical consumption from the laptop charger. So, if you’re a video gamer, then you should consider this before buying a graphics card for your pc.

Now, this implies that your computer’s power consumption can evolve rapidly depending on what you’re doing at a certain time. Furthermore, this should be noted while looking for an effective charging solution.

Is There a Minimum Wattage Required to Charge a Laptop?

A portable charger has to provide a minimum of 29-31 watts for your laptop. This is to provide more power input to the laptop than the amount it consumes. All the same, this minimum amount varies depending on the intensity of your computer consumption.

For example, if you’re using a larger laptop or are running a processor-intensive software application, using a 30-watt power adapter will not be very effective and will be draining much faster.

Now, this can’t be compared to using a 45-watts or 96-watts power adapter. They are even more effective for charging your laptop.

Is Fast Charging Worth It?

Fast charging is an effective innovation that allows users to save valuable time and return to work easily. But it has its challenges that you can’t ignore, and we’d discuss them below.

Heat

The greatest destroyer of electrical appliances is excess heat. When electricity flows through a charger at the speed of light, the resistance of the cord causes it to heat up things.

Therefore, since heat is an inescapable result, which can’t be terminated when you charge your laptop overnight, it will be at a high risk of damage.

Now, this may not be worthwhile for some folks as super-fast charging adaptors can also spoil your hardware.

Loss of Power

We all agree that over time machine efficiency deteriorates. This is because as they perform more kinetic action, they lose energy. That said, if your laptop power adapter needs 135 watts to charge your laptop battery, then it will lose some of that power.

How Much Power Does a Laptop Use Per Hour?

A typical laptop consumes 30 to 70 watts per hour. One great perk about laptops is that they consume far lesser power than desktop computers.

We’ve already discussed that the brightness of your laptop screen affects the amount of energy the laptop consumes. Thus, if you’re using a small laptop, it will invariably consume lesser power than a larger laptop.

Also, this applies to the brightness of your laptop. If you’re using your laptop with low screen brightness, it will conserve more energy than a brighter display.

It’s safer to understand that the consumption varies depending on the computer you use and the technicality of your activities on the laptop. When your laptop is not being used, it will consume less energy.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does It Matter What Wattage A Laptop Charger Is?

The wattage of your laptop charger doesn’t matter. On the flip side, what matters is the number of amps your laptop can deliver and its voltage range.

However, some laptop chargers are only compatible with 110v and don’t support 240v; that said, you will need a power converter to swap between one another.

Do Laptop Chargers Use a Lot of Electricity?

Laptop chargers don’t use much electricity, but rather, little power. The laptop charger consumes the same energy as your electric bulb. When considering the amount of energy your laptop charger consumes, it’s tiny a matter to consider.

Moreover, knowing the approximate amount of power your laptop charger can consume can be useful for better battery life.

Conclusion

How Many Watts Does a Laptop Charger Use? The amount of energy your laptop can consume depends on the size of your laptop, computer specifications, etc. Generally, based on power consumption, there are only two kinds of laptops gaming computers and standard computer.