The MacBook Pro is hard to beat as the all round king of laptops. It can do everything from simple web browsing to high-end video editing. I used mine for years without ever running out of power. If you’re like me, you’ll want to know the power consumption so you never get caught out when traveling. Knowing the specifications on your device allows you to select equipment like power inverters, plus work out the electricity usage.
Below we will discuss and test MacBook Pro wattage, explain how to work it out for yourself, and calculate the total electricity required.
How Many Watts is a MacBook Pro?
A 13” MacBook Pro uses upto 60 watts when charging and while the 15” uses upto 87 watts.
The power consumption does vary slightly depending on what task you are performing. The standard charger that comes with your Pro is rated at 60W, so this is the maximum it will draw. You will find it uses less power than this, on average around 30W according to my tests.
You can use an 87W charger on a 13” Pro but the device will not charge any faster or increase in power consumption. You should also avoid using chargers smaller than the factory standard as your charging speed will slow down dramatically.
How to Find Out Your MacBook Pro Wattage
There are 3 ways you can work out the wattage of a MacBook Pro.
- Check Product Specification
The quickest way is to look at the Apple MacBook Pro’s charger specification. The watts (W) is usually written on a sticker on the base of the charger. If not, you can check the user manual or the manufacturer’s website for technical details.
- Use a Wattmeter
A wattmeter is brilliant for getting a live wattage reading and tracking total energy usage of any appliance. You can simply plug it into your MacBook Pro to get instant information.
I used one to test a 13” MacBook Pro which gave a live reading of 31W when charging.
- Wattage Formula or Calculator
If you know the amperage and voltage of your MacBook Pro you can use this to find the maximum watts. Simply use the formula Amps x Volts = Watts. Or you can head over to the ‘Watt Calculator’ to work this out.
MacBook Pro Wattage Test
Let’s take a look at a test of different size Macbook Pros and how many watts they use to run your device.
As you can see, the power ratings vary between different Pro models, chargers, and functions. So you should take the time to check your own equipment.
How Much Electricity Does a MacBook Pro Use?
You can use MacBook Pro wattage to work out how much electricity it uses. Plus this can be useful in understanding how much it costs to run your MacBook Pro.
A watt (W) is a measurement of power at a single point in time. A watt-hour (Wh) is the total amount of electricity used in an hour. For example, a MacBook Pro drawing 61W would use 61Wh when charging for an hour.
Happily, electricity bills are recorded in kilowatt-hours (kWh). A kilowatt is simply 1000 watts. So a 61W 13” MacBook Pro charger running for 1 hour uses upto 0.061kWh.
In reality, you might charge a MacBook Pro for 1 hour a day. This would mean a MacBook Pro uses upto 61Wh or 0.061kWh electricity a day. That’s 1.83kWh a month and 22kWh a year.
That’s a rough electricity cost of $0.009 a day or $3.33 a year to charge your MacBook Pro for 1 hour every day.
Using a MacBook Pro Off-Grid
If you’re planning to use your Apple MacBook Pro in an off-grid situation like a car, power outage, RV, or boat, the information above is important. You can accurately choose equipment with enough power.
You can either use a power inverter, portable power station, or generator to produce AC electricity.
To make sure your MacBook Pro charges smoothly you should check two things on this equipment – wattage capacity and total energy capacity.
Your power source, like an inverter, should have a wattage capacity of at least 20% more than your MacBook Pro. This ensures it will be able to deliver enough power as they are never 100% efficient. To charge your MacBook Pro, you will need at least 100W of power capacity. This will give you enough to run most MacBooks.
Secondly, you need to ensure your energy source, like a battery, has enough energy to charge the MacBook Pro for the required amount of time. As we already know, it will use upto 61Wh electricity for 1 hours charging. This is the equivalent to 5Ah on a 12V battery.
You should also be able to find the total battery capacity of your MacBook Pro in the specification. This number will tell you how many Wh it takes to fully charge the device.
How Many Watts Does a MacBook Pro Use Summary
I hope you now know how many watts a MacBook Pro uses to charge and run.
These devices use a little more power than the average laptop or notebook. You’ll find the newest Pros have large inbuilt batteries and powerful chargers to keep up with demands. The consumption is at its highest when charging a low battery or running intensive programs like video editing software. Overall it’s still a very efficient computer which won’t cost you much in electricity or require large inverters/generators to keep fully charged.
