What about when you’re using the Echo to play music or inform you what the weather is going to be like?
While the larger speaker’s power usage peaks at around 10 watts, the average consumption while streaming audio is at 6 watts. So, if you only use your Echo to listen to music for a couple of hours a day and put it on standby the rest of the time, the cost is only a few cents more per month, or approximately $5 per year.
Even if you had your Echo blasting music 24 hours a day, the cost would be less than $0.60 per month, or around $7 per year.
Does my Alexa consume a lot of power?
The good news is that each of those devices receives top grades for efficiency. Smart speakers, for example, require only a few watts when in standby mode and somewhat more when enabled, according to the paper. A second-generation Amazon Echo will use roughly 15.2 kilowatt hours (kWh) per year on average, which amounts to less than $2 on your annual energy bill. For the Google Home Mini, that amount drops to 12.3 kWh, or less than a buck and a half per year.
What does it cost to keep an Alexa running?
Voice-activated devices such as Amazon Echo and Google Home are rapidly gaining market share and might become a crucial interface for the smart home in the coming year or two. These Wi-Fi-enabled speakers with voice recognition are constantly changing and can play music, answer questions, and operate a growing number of smart devices. But there’s a nagging concern for energy experts like me: how much energy do these devices actually consume?
What is the energy consumption of Amazon Echo, Amazon Echo Dot, and Google Home? To find out, read the blog! This is something to tweet about!
To find an answer, my gadget-obsessed friend Doug and I used a WeMo smart plug to evaluate the power usage of three of the most popular voice-controlled devices (Figure 1) in various settings.
We looked studied power consumption in idle mode (plugged in but not active), listening mode (when a user uses the trigger phrase “Alexa” or “OK Google followed by a command), and music-playing mode at low and high levels for each of the three devices. Our findings are summarized in the table below.
I collected more detailed data on the power usage of my personal Amazon Echo using the Kill A Watt power-measurement device. Unlike the WeMo plug, which rounds to the nearest watt, the Kill A Watt delivers measurements down to a tenth of a watt. In addition to the modes indicated above, I noticed power draw when the device was playing music at a medium volume and when Alexa was giving jokes directly to the user in a joke-telling mode. I also altered the music type from bluegrass to a more bass-heavy genre to see whether it had any effect on energy use. The findings are shown in the table below.
In idle mode, the power taken by the Echo was very consistent across the WeMo and Kill A Watt readings, however power draw in listening mode fluctuated. This makes sense because the amount of processing power required to fulfill a command is likely to vary. At lower volume levels, the power drawn by the Echo was generally consistent, but at higher volumes, it seemed to fluctuate by song style, probably because to the varied degrees of bass in different styles of music. The Echo also required a little more power to communicate to the user than it did to play music at a given volume level.
One of the most intriguing findings from all of the measurements across many devices is that power draw does not differ much between idle and active modes for any of the devices we tested. The only exception appears to be when devices are playing bass-heavy music and the volume is turned up to maximum levels. With that in mind, assuming an average power draw of 3 watts for the Amazon Echo, 3 watts for the Echo Dot (excluding the power drawn by any attached speakers), and 2 watts for the Google Home over the course of a day, an annual energy consumption of around 26 kWh for both Amazon Echo devices and 18 kWh for the Google Home can be estimated.
With an average national home electricity price of 12.75 cents/kWh (according to the US Energy Information Administration’s most current estimates), the Amazon Echo devices will cost you just $3.32 per year and the Google Home will cost you $2.30. That seems reasonable for a music-playing, joke-telling, smart home hub with an ever-growing skill set.
Do you always leave Alexa plugged in?
They’re designed to be left plugged in and turned on all the time. They don’t use much electricity when they’re not in use, so I wouldn’t be too concerned. At all times, I keep an echo plus and two dots plugged in.
Is it necessary to disconnect Alexa at night?
“The best approach is to unplug it,” McCarty explains, “to prevent the MEMs microphones from activating.”
Until Amazon puts mechanical microphone disconnect switches inside Alexa, unplugging will be the best option.
What in the house consumes the most electricity?
The Top 5 Electricity Consumers in Your House
- Heating and air conditioning. Your HVAC system consumes the most energy of any single appliance or system, accounting for 46 percent of the energy used in the average U.S. house.
- Equipment for television and media.
Does Alexa have a monthly fee?
Google Assistant, Siri, and Alexa are just a few of the digital assistants that can be found in smart gadgets. Alexa is a popular voice assistant that can be found in Amazon’s smart speakers and is increasingly being integrated into third-party products.
We understand that you must purchase the smart speaker, but how do you get access to Alexa? Is it then necessary to pay for Alexa’s services?
There is no charge for utilizing Alexa on a monthly basis. You have full access to Alexa’s AI after you purchase an Amazon Echo device. Technically, you can use the Alexa app on your smartphone without buying a smart speaker for free.
However, depending on your objectives, there may be a little more to it. In this post, we’ll look at any additional fees that may be incurred as a result of your new Amazon Echo purchase.
How much does having Alexa on standby cost?
According to research, household appliances that are kept on standby add the most to energy expenses.
With the expected spike in energy costs, there are some things that families may do to save money on their energy bills.
This involves lowering your thermostat and ensuring that all appliances are switched completely off rather than in standby mode.
Former energy provider Utilita, which went bankrupt last year, compiled a list of which household gadgets cost the most while left on standby mode.
“Standby mode is a huge energy drainersome gadgets use the same amount of energy as when they’re switched on,” Utilita’s sustainability lead Archie Lasseter told The Sun.
“Leaving only one TV on standby in a home can waste up to 16 kWh of electricity each year.”
While 16 dollars a year may not seem like much, turning off the television will save you one month’s worth of electricity. More if you have more TVs, and more when your bills increase in April, according to HullLive.
When not in use, a gaming console such as an XBox or Playstation will use roughly 10 watts in standby mode, or 16.24 per year.
If you keep your laptop plugged in but unattended for a year, it will add $4.87 to your account.
When your Google Home or Alexa Smart speakers are turned off, they use almost as much energy as when they are turned on, costing you $3.45 per year for each speaker.
How much electricity does Alexa use in the United Kingdom?
I’ll be addressing a new question on the Amazon Echo Show 5 every day this week. If you’re considering about getting the always-on device, one of the biggest concerns you might have is how much it will cost you in terms of electricity. The following is a breakdown of the energy usage of the Echo Show 5.
How much electricity does the Echo Show 5 use when it’s idle?
Using a TP-Link smart plug, I tested the energy consumption of the Echo Show 5 in various situations. Because the Kasa app that comes with the plug allows you to track average usage over the course of a week, I’ll update this piece at the conclusion of the week with more data on long-term consumption.
Meanwhile, here is the energy consumption I measured when the device was in its inactive mode, i.e. when it was displaying the clock or information on the screen but not actively being used to play music, video, or respond to a voice question.
The good news is that the energy usage is quite low. The Sust-It Electricity Cost Calculator indicates that the Echo Show 5 will cost you roughly 1.25p per day on standby, assuming the average is around 3 watts (using the UK average electricity price for December 2018).
It’s worth noting that if you experiment with the screen brightness settings, keeping the screen at minimal brightness uses around a third less electricity than keeping it at maximum glare. However, when it comes to a yearly savings of less than a pound, the value of leaving the screen darkened is arguable. (I’ll go through how to control screen brightness later this week.)
How much electricity does the Echo Show 5 use when it’s playing music or video?
The following graph shows how much energy the Echo Show 5 consumes when performing various tasks.
The speaker on the Echo Show 5 is very powerful. When you turn up the volume to its maximum (10), the sound will distort, but even at 6 or 7 you will be able to fill a small room comfortably.
The most energy-intensive activity you can do with the Echo Show 5 is cranking up the volume to maximum. When addressing voice requests, I’ve seen it get past 5W on occasion, but nothing pushes it much more than that.
In summary, you don’t have to be concerned about your household budget being shattered by the always-on Echo Show. Even if you listen to music or view movies on a daily basis, it’s unlikely to add more than a fiver to your monthly electricity cost.
Is it possible to turn Alexa off while she’s not in use?
Because Alexa devices don’t have an off switch, the only way to turn them off is to unplug them. But don’t unplug your device just yet; doing so will prevent you from using several of Alexa’s features, like as alarms, morning routines, and night routines. As a result, the best option to “switch off your Alexa device for the night” is to choose Do Not Disturb mode, which disables alerts, incoming calls, and prevents the device from lighting up. Do not disturb mode, on the other hand, allows you to set your alarm and timers as well as send Alexa requests. You’ll also be able to set a timer for when do not disturb mode ends, allowing the device to begin your morning rituals and deliver you notifications as soon as you wake up.
Is Amazon Alexa listening in on your conversations?
No, Alexa does not record all of your talks; only a portion of them are recorded. Alexa only captures what you say when the Echo or Alexa-enabled device recognizes your wake word, according to Amazon. Then, when you push the action button on your device, Alexa begins recording your request and sending it to Amazon’s cloud.
Alexa begins recording as soon as it hears its wake word and transfers the audio to the cloud.
Powerful algorithms in the cloud evaluate the audio, take the appropriate action, and save it in your account records. When your audio clip reaches Amazon’s cloud, it goes through a “cloud verification process” to ensure that you said the wake phrase and that Alexa was correctly activated.
Alexa will cease recording your chat and end the audio stream if the wake word in the excerpt isn’t confirmed. Alexa will only carry out your request once it has verified that the wake word was actually spoken. Then it’ll try to figure out when you’re done with a request and stop recording right away.
If you’re concerned that your Amazon Echo or Amazon Echo Dot is listening in on you without your permission, it’s simple to tell. Simply watch for a circular blue LED light on the gadget, or listen for the tone that Alexa emits as she awakens.