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| Device | Idle W | Typical W | Peak W | Load type | On UPS battery? | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Office desktop PC (integrated graphics) Computers | 25 | 70 | 120 | Active PFC supply | Good fit | Most office towers idle near 25 to 40 W and rarely exceed 120 W. |
| Mid-range gaming PC (60/70-class GPU) Computers | 60 | 320 | 450 | Active PFC supply | Good fit | Gaming load sits well below the PSU label. Size for the peak, not the label. |
| High-end gaming PC (80/90-class GPU) Computers | 90 | 600 | 900 | Active PFC supply | Good fit | Millisecond GPU transients can exceed this; leave 25% or more headroom and prefer pure sine output. |
| Workstation (many-core CPU, rendering) Computers | 100 | 450 | 700 | Active PFC supply | Good fit | Sustained all-core loads; runtime on small UPS units is short. |
| Mini PC / NUC-class Computers | 8 | 35 | 65 | External adapter | Good fit | External power brick. Very efficient on battery. |
| Apple Mac mini (Apple silicon) Computers | 5 | 30 | 60 | Active PFC supply | Good fit | Among the lowest-draw desktops; a small UPS gives long runtime. |
| All-in-one desktop (24 in) Computers | 20 | 60 | 100 | Active PFC supply | Good fit | Screen brightness is a big share of the draw. |
| Laptop (business, charging) Computers | 10 | 45 | 90 | External adapter | Good fit | The internal battery already rides through outages; a UPS mainly protects docks and monitors. |
| Gaming laptop (charging, under load) Computers | 25 | 180 | 280 | External adapter | Good fit | Large adapters (230 to 330 W) can draw near their limit while gaming and charging. |
| Raspberry Pi 4 / 5 Computers | 3 | 6 | 12 | External adapter | Good fit | Ideal for DC mini UPS or a small UPS. Peripherals add to the figure. |
| 24 in LCD monitor Displays | 12 | 18 | 25 | Active PFC supply | Good fit | Brightness setting changes draw by up to 2x. |
| 27 in 1440p monitor Displays | 18 | 30 | 45 | Active PFC supply | Good fit | |
| 32 in 4K monitor Displays | 25 | 45 | 70 | Active PFC supply | Good fit | HDR content can push to the high end. |
| 27 in high-refresh or OLED gaming monitor Displays | 25 | 50 | 90 | Active PFC supply | Good fit | |
| 55 in LED 4K TV Displays | 45 | 85 | 140 | Active PFC supply | Good fit | HDR peaks briefly exceed the typical figure. |
| 65 in LED 4K TV Displays | 70 | 130 | 220 | Active PFC supply | Good fit | |
| 65 in OLED TV Displays | 80 | 140 | 350 | Active PFC supply | Good fit | OLED draw varies strongly with picture content; bright HDR scenes peak high. |
| Cable modem (DOCSIS 3.1) Networking | 6 | 10 | 15 | External adapter | Good fit | Often runs from a 12 V adapter, a good fit for a DC mini UPS. |
| Fiber ONT Networking | 4 | 8 | 12 | External adapter | Good fit | Some ISPs supply their own battery backup unit for the ONT. |
| Wi-Fi 6/6E router Networking | 8 | 14 | 25 | External adapter | Good fit | |
| Mesh Wi-Fi node Networking | 6 | 10 | 18 | External adapter | Good fit | Remember every node you need to stay online. |
| 5G / LTE home internet gateway Networking | 8 | 12 | 20 | External adapter | Good fit | |
| 8-port unmanaged switch Networking | 3 | 5 | 8 | External adapter | Good fit | |
| 24-port managed switch (no PoE) Networking | 15 | 25 | 40 | Active PFC supply | Good fit | |
| 24-port PoE switch (switch only) Networking | 25 | 35 | 50 | Active PFC supply | Good fit | Add the draw of every powered device (cameras, APs, phones) on top of this. |
| Wi-Fi access point (PoE) Networking | 6 | 12 | 25 | PoE powered | Good fit | Powered through the switch; count it on the switch's UPS. |
| Small firewall / router appliance Networking | 8 | 18 | 35 | External adapter | Good fit | |
| Satellite internet dish and router (standard kit) Networking | 40 | 60 | 100 | External adapter | Check first | Snow-melt heating raises draw considerably; check the provider's figures. |
| 2-bay NAS (hard drives) Storage and servers | 8 | 18 | 30 | External adapter | Good fit | Drive spin-up at boot is the peak. |
| 4-bay NAS (hard drives) Storage and servers | 15 | 35 | 60 | External adapter | Good fit | |
| 8-bay NAS (hard drives) Storage and servers | 40 | 75 | 120 | Active PFC supply | Good fit | |
| Repurposed desktop homelab server Storage and servers | 35 | 80 | 150 | Active PFC supply | Good fit | |
| 1U rack server (single CPU) Storage and servers | 70 | 140 | 250 | Active PFC supply | Good fit | Redundant PSUs: connect both to the UPS or split across UPS and a second source. |
| 2U rack server (dual CPU) Storage and servers | 130 | 250 | 450 | Active PFC supply | Good fit | |
| External USB hard drive Storage and servers | 3 | 6 | 12 | External adapter | Good fit | |
| PlayStation 5 (gaming) Entertainment | 1 | 200 | 230 | Active PFC supply | Good fit | Rest mode draws only a few watts. |
| Xbox Series X (gaming) Entertainment | 1 | 170 | 210 | Active PFC supply | Good fit | |
| Nintendo Switch (docked) Entertainment | 3 | 12 | 18 | External adapter | Good fit | |
| AV receiver Entertainment | 35 | 90 | 300 | Mixed / other | Check first | Loud passages pull large peaks; usually best on surge-only outlets. |
| Soundbar with subwoofer Entertainment | 10 | 35 | 100 | Mixed / other | Check first | |
| Streaming stick or box Entertainment | 2 | 4 | 8 | External adapter | Good fit | |
| Cable / satellite DVR box Entertainment | 15 | 22 | 35 | Mixed / other | Good fit | |
| PoE IP camera Security | 3 | 6 | 12 | PoE powered | Good fit | Infrared night illumination and heaters raise draw. |
| 8-channel NVR with 2 hard drives (no cameras) Security | 15 | 25 | 40 | External adapter | Good fit | |
| Wired video doorbell Security | 2 | 4 | 8 | Mixed / other | Good fit | Runs from the doorbell transformer; backing it up means backing up that circuit. |
| Alarm panel and keypads Security | 5 | 10 | 20 | Mixed / other | Good fit | Most panels already have their own standby battery. |
| CPAP (no heated humidifier) Medical | 15 | 35 | 60 | External adapter | Check first | Draw rises with pressure. Ask the manufacturer about approved backup options. |
| CPAP with heated humidifier and tube Medical | 40 | 80 | 120 | External adapter | Check first | Humidifier heating dominates. Many users disable it on backup power. |
| Home oxygen concentrator (stationary) Medical | 250 | 320 | 450 | Motor / compressor | Not on battery | Compressor load with startup surge. Use the supplier's backup plan and cylinders; see our medical equipment guidance. |
| Refrigerator (full size, modern) Appliances and motors | 0 | 150 | 1200 | Motor / compressor | Not on battery | Running 100 to 250 W but startup surge is several times that. A UPS is the wrong tool; see our refrigerator guide. |
| Chest freezer Appliances and motors | 0 | 80 | 600 | Motor / compressor | Not on battery | Compressor startup surge. |
| Gas furnace (ECM blower, controls, inducer) Appliances and motors | 60 | 350 | 700 | Motor / compressor | Check first | Needs a pure sine UPS or furnace-specific backup; flame sensing can fail on stepped waveforms. |
| Gas furnace (PSC blower, older) Appliances and motors | 60 | 600 | 1200 | Motor / compressor | Check first | Older blower motors draw much more and surge at start. |
| Sump pump (1/3 hp) Appliances and motors | 0 | 800 | 2400 | Motor / compressor | Not on battery | Use a dedicated battery backup sump system or a generator. |
| Well pump (1/2 to 1 hp, 240 V) Appliances and motors | 0 | 1500 | 5000 | Motor / compressor | Not on battery | Large 240 V motor load; needs a generator or whole-home battery. |
| Garage door opener (1/2 hp) Appliances and motors | 4 | 450 | 900 | Motor / compressor | Check first | Many newer openers include their own backup battery. |
| Aquarium filter or return pump Appliances and motors | 5 | 25 | 60 | Motor / compressor | Good fit | A small pure sine UPS keeps flow and oxygenation going. |
| Aquarium heater Appliances and motors | 0 | 200 | 300 | Resistive heater | Check first | Heating elements drain a UPS quickly; insulate the tank instead during outages. |
| Laser printer Office | 5 | 600 | 1100 | Resistive heater | Not on battery | Fuser heater pulls large current surges. Plug into a surge-only outlet. |
| Inkjet printer Office | 3 | 20 | 40 | External adapter | Good fit | |
| VoIP desk phone (PoE) Office | 2 | 4 | 7 | PoE powered | Good fit | |
| Cordless phone base station Office | 2 | 3 | 5 | External adapter | Good fit | Handset batteries do not keep the base powered. |
| POS terminal with receipt printer Office | 20 | 45 | 100 | External adapter | Good fit | Thermal printers peak while printing. |
| Document scanner Office | 5 | 20 | 40 | External adapter | Good fit | |
| Paper shredder Office | 0 | 300 | 600 | Motor / compressor | Not on battery | Motor load; no reason to put it on battery. |
| LED desk lamp Other | 0 | 8 | 12 | External adapter | Good fit | |
| LED light bulb Other | 0 | 9 | 15 | Mixed / other | Good fit | |
| Phone or tablet charger Other | 1 | 10 | 30 | External adapter | Good fit | |
| Smart home hub or bridge Other | 1 | 3 | 6 | External adapter | Good fit | |
| 3D printer, FDM (heated bed) Other | 5 | 120 | 350 | Mixed / other | Check first | Peak occurs while the bed heats; size for that, not the printing average. |
| Space heater Other | 0 | 1500 | 1500 | Resistive heater | Not on battery | Never on a UPS. A 1500 W heater exceeds most consumer UPS ratings. |
| Coffee maker or kettle Other | 0 | 1000 | 1500 | Resistive heater | Not on battery | Resistive heater; never on battery outlets. |
| Microwave oven Other | 0 | 1200 | 1700 | Mixed / other | Not on battery | Far beyond a desktop UPS. |
How to read the columns
- Idle W: standby, sleep or idle with the screen on. This is what a device draws most of the day.
- Typical W: normal active use. Use this for runtime estimates.
- Peak W: sustained peak under heavy use, or the startup surge for motors, compressors and heaters. Use this to size UPS capacity and headroom.
- Load type: how the device draws power. It decides whether waveform matters: active-PFC supplies prefer pure sine output, and motors need pure sine plus surge capacity. See pure vs simulated sine wave.
- On UPS battery? "Good fit" means a typical UPS handles it well. "Check first" means it can work with the right UPS and setup; read the linked guide. "Not on battery" means use surge-only outlets or a different backup method.
Patterns worth knowing
The internet is the cheapest thing to keep alive
A modem, router and one mesh node together draw roughly 25 to 40 W, about one tenth of a gaming PC under load. During an outage, phones and laptops run on their own batteries but are useless without connectivity. Protecting network gear separately with a small UPS often delivers more practical value per dollar than any other backup purchase. See UPS for modem and router.
- Displays scale with brightness. Turning monitor brightness from 100% to 50% can cut its draw by a third or more, and it extends UPS runtime accordingly.
- Idle matters for always-on gear. A NAS or homelab server spends most hours near idle. Size runtime on the typical figure, but headroom on peak, because drive spin-up and boot storms happen when power returns.
- Heating elements dwarf electronics. Space heaters, kettles, laser printer fusers and aquarium heaters draw hundreds to over a thousand watts and are the most common cause of overload alarms.
- Labels overstate draw. A 750 W power supply label is a maximum. Typical gaming loads are 40 to 60% of it; office machines 10 to 20%.
How we compiled these figures
Ranges are compiled from manufacturer specifications, ENERGY STAR data and widely published measurements for each device class, then rounded. Individual models differ, sometimes by a factor of two, and draw changes with settings, firmware and workload. When the decision matters (for example a CPAP, or a server that must shut down cleanly), measure your own equipment. We review this table periodically as new device generations arrive; suggestions and corrections are welcome through our contact page.
Frequently asked questions
How many watts does a gaming PC use?
A mid-range gaming PC typically draws 250 to 400 W while gaming and 60 to 90 W at idle. A high-end system with a top-tier graphics card commonly draws 500 to 750 W in games, with short spikes above that. The power supply rating is a maximum, not the actual draw.
How many watts does a Wi-Fi router and modem use?
Together, usually 15 to 30 W. A cable modem draws about 6 to 15 W and a Wi-Fi 6 router about 8 to 25 W. That low draw is why a small UPS can keep internet running for hours.
Why is the peak figure so much higher for some devices?
Motors and compressors draw a startup surge several times their running power, and devices with heaters (laser printers, 3D printer beds) draw a lot while heating. Electronics with steady loads show a small gap between typical and peak.
Are these figures for 230 V countries too?
The watts are broadly similar at 230 V for electronics, since power supplies regulate their output. Current in amps is roughly half at 230 V. Motor loads and some appliances differ by region.
How do I find my device's exact draw?
Use a plug-in watt meter, a smart plug with energy monitoring, or the load reading on a UPS display. Measure idle and under heavy use. Our guide on measuring power draw explains how to capture peaks.
Sources and further reading
- Manufacturer specification sheets and published typical power consumption figures for the device classes listed
- ENERGY STAR product specifications (computers, displays, televisions, small network equipment)
- U.S. Department of Energy, Estimating Appliance and Home Electronic Energy Use