3D Printer Electricity Cost: How Much Power Does It Use?
5 min readUpdated
How much electricity does a 3D printer use? Less than its power supply suggests. This guide shows how to calculate the electricity cost of a print, why the rated wattage overestimates it and when it really matters.
The formula
Rated power vs. real consumption
The wattage on the power supply is the maximum it can deliver. A printer draws close to that only while the bed and nozzle heat up; once at temperature, the heaters cycle on and off and the average falls well below the rating.
Desktop printers printing PLA often average somewhere around 70–150 W. High-temperature materials (ABS, ASA, PC), a hot bed, an enclosure or a cold room push it higher.
The only reliable number is your own: plug the printer into an energy meter, run a typical print and divide the kWh by the hours.
Example
A 4 h 20 min print at $0.17 per kWh:
| Assumption | Energy | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| 100 W average (measured) | 0.43 kWh | $0.07 |
| 350 W rated power | 1.52 kWh | $0.26 |
Using the rated power is a safe upper limit when you have nothing better, but it can triple the electricity line.
When electricity matters
For a single small print, electricity is usually the smallest cost. It matters with:
- Print farms: 5 printers × 120 W × 8 h a day × 30 days = 144 kWh a month, about $24.48 at $0.17.
- Long prints and high-temperature materials.
- Accessories that run alongside: filament dryers, enclosure heaters, lights, a computer.
Setting it up in Slice&Price
Enter your electricity price once in the settings and give each printer its own average wattage. Every calculation then adds the electricity line automatically from the print time.
Frequently asked questions
Does a 350 W printer use 350 W all the time?
No. That is the power-supply rating. It draws near that only while heating up; the average during a print is usually much lower.
How much does it cost to run a 3D printer for an hour?
Average kilowatts × your price per kWh. At 100 W and $0.17/kWh that is about $0.017 an hour.
How do I measure my printer's consumption?
Use a plug-in energy meter for a full print, then divide the kWh shown by the print hours to get your average power.