How much electricity does a router use?
An internet router/box used 76 kWh a year at the median in measured homes (ADEME), an average of about 9 W: roughly $14 a year at the US average price or £20 under the UK price cap.
- Measured median for an internet router/box: 76 kWh a year (middle half 68–101 kWh), an average draw of about 8.7 W.
- Running cost: about $14 a year at 18.31¢/kWh (US average) or £20 at 26.32p/kWh (UK price cap).
- Switching it off for 8 hours a night saves about a third: roughly $5 or £7 a year.
Measured, not rated
ADEME’s Panel Elecdom monitored 90 internet boxes (the all-in-one modem/router supplied by internet providers) in French homes from July 2023 to July 2024. Results:
| Device | Median (kWh/yr) | Middle half | Mean | US cost at 18.31¢ | UK cost at 26.32p |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Internet router/box | 76 | 68–101 kWh | 98 kWh | about $14 | about £20 |
| TV set-top box | 30 | 14–61 kWh | 48 kWh | about $5 | about £8 |
76 kWh spread over the 8,760 hours of a year is an average of about 8.7 W, around the clock. Small in the moment, but because a router never switches off, it uses more over a year than the median microwave (29 kWh) or kettle (32 kWh) in the same panel.
The mean (98 kWh) is higher than the median because a few older or feature-heavy boxes pull the average up. Separate routers, mesh Wi-Fi nodes and network switches add their own consumption.
Should you turn your router off at night?
Turning a median router off for 8 hours a night removes a third of its consumption: about 25 kWh a year, or roughly $5 in the US and £7 in the UK.
Things to weigh up:
- Landline phones that run over the internet (VoIP) stop working while the router is off.
- Firmware updates often install overnight.
- Smart devices (alarms, cameras, thermostats, medical or care alarms) may need a permanent connection.
- Restarting every day takes a few minutes.
A middle ground: use the eco or Wi-Fi scheduling features many routers offer, and put the TV, set-top box and games console on a switched power strip that you turn off at night.
Find your own “always-on” load
Everything that never switches off (router, set-top box, ventilation, devices on standby) forms a base load. To estimate it, read your meter (or check your smart meter app) last thing at night and first thing in the morning, when almost nothing is running. Remember the fridge keeps cycling, and switch off anything that runs on a timer overnight. The difference divided by the number of hours gives your base load in kW.
Compare with every other appliance on our page how much electricity appliances really use.