If you are worried about the electricity bill due to a projector and want to know How Many Watts a Projector Use? then you are at the exact place. We are here to answer this burning question on the internet.
The projector is one of the most useful devices. It has become feature-rich, advanced, more affordable, and energy-efficient at the same time. Many companies manufacture this device and we have thousands of projectors available on the market to buy.
We can purchase a projector from a low price to a high price according to features and specifications. So it is easy to say that not all projectors consume the same amount of energy as it depends on features and usage. In this article, we will illustrate the power consumption of the various projectors available in the market.
Factors decide the power Consumption of a Projector
We know that a projector is a device that uses light from the lamp to reflect information or contents on a projection screen. Brightness is one of the major factors that dictate the power consumption of a projector as the provided electricity is used up by the projector lamp to illuminate.
The brightness is measured in unit lumens. Lumens are defined as the intensity of light per unit area. The Lumens of a projector not only measure brightness but also image quality.
Projectors with high brightness(lumen) consume more energy than lower ones. So, we should choose a projector effectively according to our usage.
Different Types of Projectors and Their Power Consumption
There are differences in power consumption in battery-powered projectors, LED projectors, DLP projectors, and Laser Projectors. Let’s talk about this now.
Battery Powered Projectors
Battery-powered projectors run with the power of a battery and are referred to as portable or Pico projectors. So, they consume the least power of any projectors.
It can be plugged into electricity to use as a regular projector and for charging the battery. But mostly it is used as a portable projector to use in travel or outdoors to run with the power of the battery.
The battery of these projectors lasts for 2-5 hours. It consumes an average of 10-70W of power depending on size and performance.
LED Projectors
LED is used as a light source in this projector. These projectors come with a size combination of battery-powered projectors and energy efficiency.
LED projectors are very affordable and provide a brilliant range of colours. It consumes 30-150 watts depending on usage, performance, and features.
DLP Projectors
DLP projectors are well-known for their great brightness-providing ability. An entry-level DLP projector comes with 5-7 times more brightness than an LED projector even though the DLP technology is old enough.
High power consumption and low energy efficiency are the biggest downsides of DLP projectors. The average power consumption of a DLP projector per hour is 150-350 watts.
LASER Projectors
There’s all the hype about LASER projectors that can easily tackle the problems of LED and DLP projectors. LASER is used as a light source in this projector to project images.
Though LASER projectors are costly, they can produce an Ultra bright and brilliant range of colours along with great colour-accuracy images enabling them to use a regular basis outdoor projector.
The LASER technology is entirely safe and more durable than any other projector. Typically a LASER projector consumes 250-800 watts per hour anywhere. Though energy consumption is high, it is negotiable with such performance.
How Many Watts Does a Projector Use?
Different types of projectors and their power consumption is shown in the table:
Types of Projectors | Approximate Power Consumption (watts) |
Battery-Power Projector | 10-70 |
LED Projector | 30-150 |
DLP projector | 150-350 |
LASER projector | 250-800 |
How to Measure the Power Consumption of a Projector
We can easily calculate the power consumption by some easy steps.
Figure out The Watt
First, find the wattage of your projector. Wattage is labelled on almost all electric devices nowadays. So, you can easily read the labelled watt on your projector.
If no information is labelled then you can search on the internet about specific projectors’ models. It is recommended to search on the manufacturer’s sellers’ websites to find the information.
For example, assume that your projector works on 150 watts.
Calculate Daily Consumed Power
In this step, you need to calculate the usage of the watt-hour of your projector. Simple multiply watts and hours of usage per day of your projector (watt x hours usage per day).
If you use your projector daily for an average of 2 hours then your projector uses (150 x 2) = 300 watts every day. As you can see the equation is very simple, you can easily calculate your projector’s daily watt usage.
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Convert Watt-hour into Kilowatt-hour
Now you have to convert the watt-hour to kilowatt-hour. To convert watt-hour to kilowatt-hour (kWh) we need to simply divide the readings of watt-hour by 1000 as 1000 watts is equal to 1 kilowatt.
Now from the previous step, 300 watts are consumed per day by the projector. So (300watts) / (1000) = 0.3 kWh.
Convert into Monthly Usage
In this step, we will calculate the monthly power consumption of the projector. Simply multiply the reading of Kilowatt-hour (kWh) by the number of days in a month.
From the previous step, we have found the regular power consumption of the projector is 0.3kWh. So monthly usage is (0.3 x 30) = 9 kWh.
Calculate ate the Monthly Electricity Bill for The Projector
The kilowatt-hour, most commonly referred to as Units, is used to calculate electricity bills. You can calculate your monthly electricity bill simply by multiplying the value of a unit with the monthly consumed kilowatt-hours.
Let’s say your electricity-providing company takes $0.50 for a unit. So your monthly electricity bill for the projector will be around (9 x 0.50) = 4.5 dollars.
What to do if the projector’s power is unable to figure out
Contact Customer Service
If you are facing difficulties to figure out the accurate power consumption of your projector, then you should first contact customer service. Most manufacturing companies provide strong customer service to help customers with any problem with the product. Just ensure that your warranty is up to date.
Purchase a Watt Measuring Device
Using a watt-measuring device with your projector, you can easily figure out the watt consumption. Just plug the device with electricity and connect it to the projector to measure the value of the watt.
Calculate Projector’s Power Consumption Manually
Turn Off and unplug
To measure the power consumption of the projector we need to follow every step perfectly. First, we should power off every electrical device in your home except the projector of measurement. To turn them off, unplug their power cable from the electricity socket.
Note the Initial Reading of The Utility Meter
Connect your projector with a utility meter and note the initial reading on the meter. This reading is important to measure the approximate power consumption of the projector. To measure power consumption manually a utility meter is a must.
Let the test run for one-hour
The utility meter measures the power consumption of the projector in kilowatt-hour (kWh) units. So, it is necessary to run the projector with the utility meter for at least one hour.
So, you can think about what will happen if you run for more than one hour. Don’t worry you can easily calculate the kilowatt-hour by dividing the total reading by the total hour of usage.
Count Your Usage Manually
Now get ready to perform arithmetic expressions. Arithmetic expression oh my God. I’m done. Is that what are you thinking about?? Don’t worry, it’s just basic arithmetic. Plew!
Take a calculator and simply subtract the initial reading from the one-hour test run’s final reading. The final reading after subtraction is the approximate power consumption of your projector.
Are Projectors Expensive to Run?
Not at all. Using projectors doesn’t cost much. Suppose you use a high-end LASER projector that consumes 500 Watt for an average of 3 hours. Now let’s calculate and decide if it is expensive or not.
Daily consumed power is (500 x 3) =1500 watts. After converting into kilowatts, the projector’s daily power consumption we find that 1.5 kilowatt-hours. So monthly kilowatt-hour usage is (30 x 1.5) = 45 kWh or units. Though the unit price varies with place, for simplicity let’s assume the price of one unit is $0.30. Then the monthly cost for this projector will be (45 x 0.30) = 13.5 dollars. So running projectors are not that expensive to say.
Conclusion
It has been easy to find energy-efficient projectors from a large number of options available in the market.
Just purchase a projector with the necessary features according to your usage and help to save electric energy as no energy is constant in this universe.
Hope this article helps you know more about various projectors’ energy consumption and efficiency.
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