Are you considering getting into the hobby of 3D printing but want to know how much the electricity costs are? It’s important to know what types of costs are involved before making a serious commitment.
Contents
Do 3D Printers Use A Lot Of Electricity?
3D printers can use a lot of electricity, depending on what material is being used and how the printer is set up. Generally, metal and glass 3D printers are less energy-guzzling than plastic ones. More complex projects (with more moving parts) also demand more power.
How Much Electricity Does A 3D Printer Use?
It all depends on what materials you are using and how complicated the project is. Generally, metal and glass 3D printers use less energy than plastic ones. As mentioned previously, the more complicated the project, the more power it will need.
However, basically, it is estimated that the electricity use of 3D printers in the United States will be about 8 million megawatt hours (MWh) in 2020.
How To Estimate Electricity Use For A 3D Printer
There are a few different ways to estimate your 3D printing energy use. One is to measure the cost of electricity in KWh for the country you are living in and divide it by how many hours in a day you are printing. To do this, take your total power used (in watts) and multiply it by how many hours in a day for an estimate. You can also calculate the cost of electricity per kWh per month, then divide that monthly cost by 30 (the number of days) to get an estimate per day of power used in kWh/day.
Another way to estimate the cost of electricity is to use what is called a WATT-LOW. This calculator estimates the cost of power for an activity. To do this, enter the number of cycles per day (usually 24 hours) and then the speed of your printer and how many layers you are printing at a time. There are a few other options, such as using a printer in an area with high power use or calculating the cost of power for particular parts of projects.
Conclusion
It is clear that 3d printers can use a lot of electricity depending on what you are printing. There are many factors the make it more cost effective than many people think. Heat management and security are the main problems that must be considered during the process, but those things can easily be managed so that they do not become problems to own a 3d printer.
