A screen's yearly electricity cost is its power in watts divided by 1,000, times the hours it is on per year, times your price per kWh. Add the player's power to the screen's, and add standby power for the hours the screen is off. Enter the watts from the type plate or the EU product database EPREL.
The values shown are an example for a small shop. Replace them with your own quotes and invoices.
How it is calculated
- kWh per screen per year = (power of screen + player in watts × hours on per day + standby watts × hours off per day) × days per year ÷ 1,000.
- Cost per year = kWh × price per kWh. Per month is that ÷ 12.
- The player's power is added to the screen's whenever the player is on. If the screen and player are switched off together, set standby low.
Which price to use
Use the price on your own invoice, excluding VAT if you can reclaim it. The chips use Eurostat's average invoiced price for non-household customers in the second half of 2025, excluding VAT and other recoverable taxes, for the smallest consumption band Eurostat publishes (under 20 MWh per year). That is an indication, not your tariff.
| Country | Under 20 MWh per year | 20 to 499 MWh per year |
|---|---|---|
| Netherlands | 0.4083 | 0.2463 |
| Germany | 0.3258 | 0.2618 |
| France | 0.2688 | 0.1946 |
| Belgium | 0.2808 | 0.2158 |
| Spain | 0.2419 | 0.1618 |
| Italy | 0.3771 | 0.2377 |
| Ireland | 0.3012 | 0.2915 |
| Poland | 0.3576 | 0.2635 |
| Sweden | 0.1957 | 0.1140 |
| EU average | 0.2980 | 0.2179 |
A signage screen uses far less than 20 MWh a year, so the first column is the closer indication. Prices including all taxes are higher in some countries.
Where to find the watts
There is no independent typical wattage per screen size, so this tool does not guess one. The EU energy label database EPREL lists the power of each television model in on mode under Regulation (EU) 2019/2013, as declared by the supplier. Raspberry Pi's documentation gives typical currents for its boards, for example 0.78 A on average when a Pi 4 plays H.264 video, which is about 4 W at 5 V. Amazon does not publish an official wattage for Fire TV sticks, so check the power supply label.
Switching screens off outside opening hours lowers the hours on. Screenbird can switch screens on and off on a schedule on supported players using HDMI-CEC.
How much electricity does a digital signage screen use?
It depends on the model and brightness. Read the power on the type plate or find your model in the EPREL database, then enter hours per day and your price per kWh above.
Does the player add much?
Usually little compared with the screen. A Raspberry Pi 4 draws about 4 W while playing video, according to the current Raspberry Pi documentation.
Sources: Eurostat: electricity prices for non-household consumers (nrg_pc_205) · EPREL: European Product Registry for Energy Labelling · Raspberry Pi documentation: power requirements