Nothing beats a good movie, especially on the big screen. Some movies can’t be done justice without immersing yourself in over 100 inches of HD viewing. Of course, most of us can’t fit a gigantic TV in our lives. But now we can all enjoy projectors at the touch of a button. You can even get mini portable devices to use anywhere anytime. One question you might have is about the power consumption for such a large viewing experience.
Below we will discuss and test projector wattage, explain how to work it out for yourself, and calculate the total electricity required.
How Many Watts is a Projector?
The average projector uses between 50 to 150 watts.
The exact number depends on the size and model of your projector. For example, small portable projects use 50W while larger domestic machines use over 100W. You should know that professional projects can consume 300W or more!
The reason for this difference in power levels is down to size and resolution of your projector. The larger the device the higher the power usage, plus an increase in resolution adds to the overall number. In addition, the built-in speakers can add between 5W and 30W.
How to Find Out Your Projector Wattage
There’s 3 ways you can work out the wattage of a projector.
- Check Product Specification
The quickest way is to look at the projector’s specification. The watts (W) is usually written on a sticker on the base of the appliance. 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 projector to get instant information.
I used one to test my projector which gave a live reading of 55.5W.
- Wattage Formula or Calculator
If you know the amperage and voltage of your projector you can use this to find the running watts. Simply use the formula Amps x Volts = Watts. Or you can head over to the ‘Watt Calculator’ to work this out.
Projector Wattage Examples
Let’s take a look at specific examples of how many watts a projector draws. Below is a collection of modern projectors with their listed power ratings.
| Projector Model | Power Rating (Watts) |
| Living Enrichment Mini Projector | 50 |
| AuKing Mini Projector | 50 |
| Mini Projector, CLOKOWE | 45 |
| Living Enrichment Mini Projector FHD | 72 |
| Mini Projector, AuKing | 50 |
| Tkisko Native 1080P HD Projector | 65 |
| ONOAYO 5G WiFi Projector | 65 |
| Artlii Energon2 5G WiFi Projector | 150 |
| SAMSUNG Premiere 4K Smart Laser | 240 |
As you can see, the power ratings vary between different projectors. So you should take the time to check your own appliance.
How Much Electricity Does a Projector Use?
You can use projector wattage to work out how much electricity it uses. Plus this can be useful in understanding how much it costs to run your projector.
A watt (W) is a measurement of power at a single point in time. A watt-hour is the total amount of electricity used in an hour. For example, a projector drawing 70W would use 70Wh when running for an hour.
Happily, electricity bills are recorded in kilowatt-hours (kWh). A kilowatt is simply 1000 watts. So a 70W projector running for 1 hour uses 70kWh.
In reality, you use a projector for 5 hours a week. This means a projector uses about 350Wh or 0.35kWh electricity a week. That’s 1.5kWh a month and 18kWh a year.
That’s a rough electricity cost of $0.05 a week or $2.70 a year to use a home projector for 5 hours a week.
Using a Projector Off-Grid
If you have a portable project you might want to use it off-grid in a boat, RV, power outage, or similar. Knowing the power consumption enables you to select the correct power products and work out how long they can run.
You can either use a power inverter, portable power station, or generator to produce AC electricity.
To make sure everything runs 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 projector. This ensures it will be able to deliver enough power as they are never 100% efficient. To project a movie, you will need at least 150W of power capacity to run a portable device. This gives you enough capacity without overworking your equipment.
Secondly, you need to ensure your energy source, like a battery, has enough energy to run the projector for the required amount of time. As we already know, it will use about 70Wh electricity every hour. This is the equivalent to 5.83Ah on a 12V battery.
How Many Watts Does a Projector Use Summary
I hope you now clearly understand how many watts a projector uses.
To be honest, using a project only draws a little bit more power than a TV. The benefits is that you get a much larger screen size for watching movies or playing video games. Plus you can pack it away in a cupboard when not in use. It’s very easy to use a portable device off-grid from battery power or a power station. You’ll be able to watch the latest blockbuster without running out of electricity.
