How much it costs to charge your devices

Charging your phone, tablet and laptop is surprisingly cheap. For a whole year you’re looking at under $25 – less than the price of a family takeaway meal.

Charging costs

We love our gadgets. Smartphones and tablets make it really easy to stay in touch with friends and family even when we're out and about, and keep us entertained on long commutes to and from work and school.

Unlike dryers, washing machines and stoves, small devices like tablets and phones require tiny amounts of electricity to charge up. It's good news for you, Facebook and Instagram fans!

iPhone – 75c per year

Fully recharging your phone every day for 12 months will use 2kWh of electricity, costing around 60c. Don’t forget to remove your charger from the wall once you’re done to prevent using extra power.

iPad: $9.40 per year

If you fully drain and charge your iPad every other day it will cost around $2.80 for a year. That’s some of the cheapest entertainment around!

Laptop: $13.70 per year

If you charge your laptop every day with a 45kWh charger it will cost around $14. That’s pretty affordable for a whole year of work and play.

More information

For more information on understanding and managing your home energy use, see our other home energy tips.