Wednesday, December 15, 2010

How much power does an Apple iPhone 3GS use

I must admit I really like small technology and in particular the savings on electricity which can be had by using the convenience of a handheld device rather than leaving a desktop computer on all day.

I've found as soon as a person gets an Apple iPhone or Touch product their use of their computer goes down considerably because many of the background tasks like checking email, or social networking, can be done on a portable device. That means the main desktop computer often doesn't even need to be turned on.

Often when people turn on their desktop computer they also turn on a number of additional devices such as a connected printer which increases power usage. I found when I had a HP PocketPC I could turn it on and check my emails in around ten seconds so I didn't have to even turn the computer on until I was ready to start working on projects requiring the computer. However the PocketPC didn't keep up with technology and so I decided to get an Apple iPhone 3GS to use as a portable computer. Yes I don't even use it as a phone. I simply use it as a portable computer and with the right SIM and data plan, I get a portable computer which gives me internet access in many places for $149 a year plus the cost of the iPhone.

Every time I turn my iPhone on and use it instead of the desktop computer I know I'm saving electricity, but the question is how much electricity. I decided to measure the electricity and work out how much it costs me to run my computer using the Energy Cost Calculator. I used the power meter which is shown on the Energy Cost Calculator page.

From what I can see when charging the iPhone it consumes about 6 watts of power and slightly more if you are using it at the same time. Once the battery is full it uses about 1 watt if left on the charger. Charging takes about one to two hours and I often top up the iPhone battery each day. The cost to charge up my iPhone if it did take two hours a day is less than a dollar a year.

Click here to determine cost per year for charging assuming one hour per day. (Change hours to suit yourself.)

Click here to determine cost to run assuming 14 hours per day, exluding charging. (Change hours to suite yourself.

My desktop computer with a 17" LCD monitor uses around 110 watts of power. Without a handheld computer I'd probably leave the computer on from first thing in the morning until last thing at night. With the handheld computer it is possible that on weekends I wouldn't even need to turn the computer on. If I ran my computer every day, all day, the cost will be around $112 a year. The more I use a handheld computer instead of the desktop the more money I save.

Kelvin Eldridge
You can save up to 50% of your electricity bill with a few simple changes in behaviour.
www.justlocal.com.au/clients/energy-cost

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