The Amazon Echo Show smart screens are permanently plugged in in most cases. Here you can see the power consumption of the devices and the annual costs at a glance.
If the Echo Show’s screen is always on, the electricity costs are twice as high as if the display was deactivated when it was idle. (Source: Richard W. Schaber)
- In addition to the smart speaker, the Amazon Echo Show device series also has a screen.
- With the screen activated, the devices generate annual electricity costs of up to 42 dollars.
- If the display is switched off, an Echo Show still consumes half as much energy even in a completely passive state.
With the Echo Show, Amazon has created a smart companion for everyday domestic life that is actually constantly on the air. The smart displays with loudspeakers not only wait to be called to action with the voice command “Alexa”, but also constantly display something without any activation command.
Most users of the device series will be aware that there are electricity costs for the constantly active smart screens. However, it may surprise many of you how much the cost of running an Echo Show can add up over the course of a year. This is likely to be particularly important in households where various of the smart assistants are in use.
Echo Show: Turn off the screen and save power
With a currently realistic electricity price of 40 cents per kilowatt hour for the large Echo Show 15 in normal condition without a switched-off screen, according to Netzwelt measurements, up to 42 dollars a year are incurred. Even the small Echo Show 5 consumes electricity worth just over 10 dollars a year with a consumption of 3 watts when active.
Only when the electricity meter is running does it become clear what smart devices in the household cost per year. The largest Echo Show even consumes electricity for over 40 dollars a year. (Source: Richard W. Schaber)
If you turn off the Echo Show screen when not in use, you can save a lot. All devices in the Netzwelt test with a deactivated display only use half the usual energy. With several active smart devices in the household, this still costs a lot of money, but it reduces the costs noticeably.
Here you can see the annual power consumption of all devices in the Echo Show series and the costs incurred per year (as of July 2023) at a glance:
| Echo Show | Energy requirement (display off/on) | Electricity costs per year* |
|---|---|---|
| 5 (3. Gen) | 1,5W / 3W | 5 Euros – 10 Euros |
| 8 (2. Gen) | 3W / 5,5W | 10 Euros – 19 Euros |
| 10 (3. Gen) | 5W / 9,5W | 17 Euros – 33 Euros |
| 15 (1. Gen) | 6W / 12W | 21 Euros – 42 Euros |
| * rounded, based on the forecast average price of EUR 0.40/KwH |
Echo Show power consumption
Incidentally, the Amazon Fire TV Stick still consumes half as much power when it is idle as with UHD streaming via Netflix. You can read what that costs you per year in the linked Netzwelt article.
Don’t miss anything with the NETWORK-Newsletter
Every Friday: The most informative and entertaining summary from the world of technology!
