How Much Power Does a Network Router Consume?

Everyone is interested (hopefully) in conserving electricity and saving money on their power bills. Any gadgets around the house that tend to stay on 24 hours a day, like network routers, are obvious suspects to question when looking for sources of wasteful energy consumption.

Fortunately, routers don't consume a lot of power. Wireless routers use the most, particularly those newer models with multiple Wi-Fi antennas, because these radios need a certain level of power to stay connected. The Linksys WRT610 (see right), for example, utilizes two radios for dual-band wireless support, yet it draws just 18 watts of power.

Assuming you leave the WRT610 running in dual-band mode 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, it will result in 3 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per week added to your electric bill. Costs vary depending where you live, but typically the WRT610 and similar wireless routers cost no more than $1-$2 (USD) per month to run.

→ See also - Finding / Fixing Home Power Hogs
→ See also - 802.11v Wi-Fi Saves Power

Linksys WRT610N Simultaneous Dual-N Band Wireless Router - Photo: www.linksys.com