How Much Electricity Does a 3D Printer Use? (Real Costs)

I get asked this question all the time, usually by someone whose partner is worried about the electricity bill. So I plugged a power meter into my printers for a month and tracked the actual numbers. The short answer: it’s less than you think. Way less. About the same as running a desktop computer.

Here’s the full breakdown with real measurements and current UK electricity prices.

How Much Power Does a 3D Printer Actually Draw?

Power draw fluctuates massively during a print. The initial heating phase — getting that bed up to temperature — is the hungry bit. Once everything’s hot, the printer settles into a much lower steady state. I watched my Bambu Lab P1S spike to 340W during warm-up, then cruise at about 180W for the rest of an 8-hour print.

FDM Printer Power Consumption

FDM printers have two big power consumers: the heated bed (the main one) and the hot end. Everything else — motors, fans, control board — is relatively minimal.

Typical wattage ranges:

Component	Power Draw
Heated bed (warming up)	150-350W
Heated bed (maintaining temp)	50-100W
Hot end	30-50W
Stepper motors	15-30W
Control board & fans	5-15W
Total during warm-up	200-450W
Total during printing	100-200W

A standard desktop printer like the Creality Ender-3 V3 or Bambu Lab A1 Mini draws about 120-200W on average during printing — see our guide to the best 3D printers for kids for more on these beginner-friendly models. Bigger printers with larger beds draw more — the Bambu Lab X1 Carbon peaks at 350W but averages 200-250W.

Resin Printer Power Consumption

Resin printers are surprisingly frugal. No heated bed, no hot nozzle — just a UV LED array and a Z-axis motor. My Elegoo Saturn draws about 70W during printing, which is less than the telly.

Typical wattage ranges:

Component	Power Draw
UV LED array	30-60W
Z-axis motor	5-10W
Control board & screen	10-20W
Total during printing	50-100W

You do need to factor in a UV curing station (5-15W per cycle) and a wash station if you use one. But overall, resin printing is cheap to power.

Right, What Does It Actually Cost?

Dead simple formula:

Cost = Power (kW) x Time (hours) x Electricity rate (£/kWh)

The UK Ofgem price cap rate in early 2026 is about 24.5p per kWh. Many people on variable tariffs pay up to 33p/kWh or more. I’ll show both.

Real Examples

A typical 8-hour FDM print (200W average):

• 0.2 kW x 8 hours = 1.6 kWh
• At 24.5p/kWh: 39p
• At 33p/kWh: 53p

That’s less than a cup of coffee from Costa. For 8 hours of printing.

A 24-hour FDM print (200W average):

• 0.2 kW x 24 hours = 4.8 kWh
• At 24.5p/kWh: £1.18
• At 33p/kWh: £1.58

A typical 6-hour resin print (80W average):

• 0.08 kW x 6 hours = 0.48 kWh
• At 24.5p/kWh: 12p
• At 33p/kWh: 16p

Twelve pence. For a detailed resin print. I spend more on the nitrile gloves.

What It Costs Over a Year

Here’s the practical picture for different usage levels:

Usage Level	Hours/Week	FDM Cost (200W)	Resin Cost (80W)
Light (hobby)	10 hrs	£63/year	£25/year
Moderate	25 hrs	£157/year	£63/year
Heavy	50 hrs	£314/year	£126/year
Near-continuous	100 hrs	£628/year	£251/year

Calculated at 24.5p/kWh. Add about 35% if you’re on a 33p/kWh tariff.

For context, the average UK household spends roughly £1,400 a year on electricity. A moderate hobbyist adds about 10% to that — noticeable, but hardly going to cause arguments with your other half. I hope.

How Does It Compare to Other Things in Your House?

This puts it in perspective:

Appliance	Typical Power Draw
Electric kettle	2,000-3,000W
Oven	2,000-2,500W
Washing machine	500-2,000W
Desktop computer	150-300W
FDM 3D printer	100-250W
Television (LED)	50-100W
Resin 3D printer	50-100W
LED light bulb	5-15W

Your kettle draws 15x more power than your 3D printer. Every time you boil the kettle twice in an hour, you’ve used more electricity than an hour of printing. That’s the kind of comparison I find useful when someone says “won’t it cost a fortune to run?”

What Affects How Much Your Printer Uses?

Heated Bed Temperature

This is the single biggest factor. Printing PLA at 60°C uses far less than ABS at 100-110°C. I measured a 40% difference in power draw between the two on my Ender-3. If electricity cost worries you, stick to PLA or PETG (70-80°C bed temp).

Room Temperature

Printing in my unheated garage in December used noticeably more electricity than printing in my warm office. The bed has to work harder to maintain temperature against a cold ambient. An enclosed printer helps enormously — the enclosure traps heat that would otherwise dissipate.

Print Speed

This surprised me: faster printers can actually use less total energy. Yes, they draw more power per minute (motors working harder, hot end melting faster), but the print finishes so much sooner that total consumption drops. My Bambu P1S printing a benchy in 18 minutes used less electricity than my old Ender-3 doing the same print in 90 minutes.

Bed Size

A 235x235mm bed (Ender-3 size) draws significantly less than a 350x350mm bed (K1 Max). Pick a printer sized for what you actually print — there’s no point heating a massive bed for small objects.

Printer Age

Newer printers are more efficient. Modern 32-bit boards, TMC stepper drivers, and better thermal management all help. My old 2020-era printer drew noticeably more than my current machines for the same result.

How to Spend Less on Electricity

1. Print PLA Unless You Need Something Else

Lower temps = less power. PLA is also the cheapest filament, so it saves you money on both fronts.

2. Enclose Your Printer

An enclosure traps heat, so the bed doesn’t have to work as hard. Essential for ABS anyway, but it saves electricity on every material. Even a simple IKEA Lack enclosure (a stack of two Lack tables with acrylic panels) makes a measurable difference.

3. Print Overnight on Economy 7

If you’re on an Economy 7 or smart tariff with off-peak rates, schedule long prints for the overnight window. My overnight rate is about 9p/kWh — a third of the daytime price. Many printers with Wi-Fi can be started remotely from your phone.

4. Use Thicker Layers

0.2-0.3mm layers print much faster than 0.1mm — meaning less total electricity. Only use thin layers when surface finish actually matters. Similarly, dropping infill from 20% to 10% speeds up internal fills.

5. Stop Failing Prints

A failed 12-hour print wastes about 30-50p in electricity plus the filament cost. Proper bed levelling, good first-layer adhesion, and proven slicer profiles prevent this. I ruined my first three ABS prints before I learned to use a proper enclosure — that’s money I won’t get back.

6. Turn It Off When You’re Done

Sounds obvious, but loads of people leave printers powered on between jobs. An idle FDM printer still draws 10-15W from the board and display. Get a smart plug (about £10 from Currys or Amazon) and cut power completely when idle.

The Real Story: Electricity vs Filament

Here’s what I really want you to take away from this. Electricity is a tiny fraction of your 3D printing costs:

Cost Component	Typical Cost per 1kg Print
PLA filament	£15-25
Electricity (FDM)	£0.50-1.50
Wear and tear	£0.10-0.50
Total	£15.60-27.00

Electricity is about 3-6% of the total. If you want to save money on 3D printing, buy filament in bulk when it’s on sale — that’ll save you far more than anything you can do about your electricity consumption.

The Bottom Line

Don’t let electricity costs put you off. A typical FDM printer costs 30-50p per print, or roughly £5-15 per month for a regular hobbyist. Resin printers cost even less to power (though the resin itself is pricier than filament).

For most people, a 3D printer will add less than £10 a month to your energy bill. That’s less than a Netflix subscription. Run a desktop computer all day? You’re already paying more than a 3D printer would cost.

If you’re weighing up a printer for product development or a side business, the electricity cost shouldn’t be a factor in your decision. See our picks for the best 3D printers for prototyping to get started.