Do Digital Picture Frames Use a Lot of Electricity?

If you leave a digital frame on all day, you might wonder what it does to your electric bill. The short answer: almost nothing. Digital frames use very little power.

How Many Watts Does a Digital Frame Use?

Most digital picture frames use between 5 and 15 watts while the screen is on. That is less than a single LED light bulb. A 10-inch frame typically uses 5 to 8 watts. A 15-inch frame uses 10 to 15 watts. The Meural Canvas II at 21.5 inches uses about 18 watts.

How Much Does It Cost to Run?

At the average US electricity rate of about 16 cents per kilowatt hour, a 10-watt frame running 12 hours a day costs about $7 per year. That is less than 60 cents a month. Even if you run it 24 hours a day, it costs around $14 per year.

Compare that to a 55-inch TV using 100 watts or more. A digital frame is one of the cheapest electronics you can run in your home.

Motion Sensors Save Power

Many frames have motion sensors that turn the screen off when nobody is in the room. Aura, Nixplay, and some Pix-Star models all have this feature. The frame stays in standby mode, using less than 1 watt, until someone walks by.

With a motion sensor, your frame might only run the screen 6 to 8 hours per day instead of 12 or more. That cuts the electricity cost in half.

Scheduled On/Off Times

Most WiFi frames let you set a schedule. Turn the screen on at 7 AM and off at 10 PM. This saves power overnight when nobody is looking at it.

The Bottom Line

A digital picture frame adds about $1 to $2 per month to your electric bill at most. For most people, it is not even noticeable. The motion sensor and scheduling features cut that even further. Electricity cost should not be a factor in your buying decision.