3D Print Cost Calculator

3D Printing Electricity Cost Calculator

Find out what a print costs in electricity, per print, per hour and per month.

Energy used per print
Electricity cost per print
Electricity cost per month
Electricity cost per hour of printing

The formula

Energy in kilowatt-hours = power in kilowatts × hours. Cost = energy × your price per kWh. A 120 W average over 4 hours is 0.48 kWh, which at $0.17 per kWh is about $0.08.

Average power is not the printer’s rating

A printer’s maximum power rating is only reached while heating up. Once the bed and hotend are at temperature the heaters cycle on and off, so the average over a whole print is lower. As a rough guide only, many desktop printers average somewhere between about 50 and 200 W, with enclosed machines and hot beds at the high end. A plug-in energy meter gives the real figure for your printer and your material.

Which price per kWh to use

Use the all-in rate on your bill, including delivery charges, not just the energy line. Rates vary a lot by region and sometimes by time of day.

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