Your phone expenses are not limited only to the cost of the handset and the carrier plan, but also extend to its maintenance and the cost of electricity required to keep it running. According to a report released by the energy analytics company Opower, the iPhone 5 costs only 41 cents a year based on electricity usage (assuming you charge it once day). This figure is almost one third of the amount used by the iPad, which costs around $1.36 a year. Apparently, Apple’s iPhone 5 may be the cheapest new smartphone on the market in terms of energy costs.
According to the study conducted by Opower, the iPhone 5 consumed 9.5 watt-hours to charge, taking 1 hour and 50 minutes. The maximum power consumed was 6.3 watts with an average of 5 watts. Multiplying 0.0095 kWh/day by 365 days equals 3.47 kWh per year, which pegs the annual charging cost at $0.41 a year.
According to the study, Apple beat its direct competitor, the Samsung Galaxy S III, whose energy costs hovered around 53 cents a year. However, the comparison is not very relevant to the users as most users do not care about 12 extra cents. Opower’s Barry Fischer said that, “The paramount point here though is not the difference between the two phones but rather their striking similarity: the energy consumption of a modern smartphone is miniscule.”
The study also included various other devices. The average laptop PC costs around $8.31 a year, a desktop around $28.21 and the Xbox 360 around $40.24. The main motivation for this study was to compare how smaller devices work in comparison to their larger counterparts and the study found a clear correlation between the size of a device and its energy consumption, which is clearly vindicated by the Xbox 360’s almost 100x higher energy consumption.
Opower thinks that since smartphones’ energy consumption is quite low, it is a positive sign that society is becoming more dependent on smartphones rather than PCs. This is better for both users as well as the environment. The cost effectiveness visible in the use of smartphones portrays their energy efficiency, and with energy being of paramount importance today it looks like smartphones are indeed going the right way. With the industry moving towards even more power efficient displays, future smartphones should consume even lesser energy.
