How Much Electricity Does a Wi-Fi Router and Modem Use — and Is It Worth Turning Off at Night?

A router and modem run around the clock, so it is natural to wonder what they cost. The honest answer is: it depends on the model, and the only reliable number is the one you measure or read from the manufacturer. The good news is that the calculation is simple, and for most homes the result is small. Here is how to work it out for your own equipment.

How to Find Your Router’s Power Draw

Look up the data sheet. Many manufacturers list a typical or maximum power consumption in watts in the product specifications. Use the typical figure if both are given.

Measure it. A plug-in energy meter between the outlet and the router’s power adapter shows the real draw in watts. Measure for a day if you can: the draw changes with traffic, the number of connected devices and features such as USB drives.

Count every box. A home network often includes a modem or fiber terminal, a router, mesh units, a switch or a powerline kit. Each adds its own consumption.

As a reference point for how much networking equipment may draw when idle: the EU’s ecodesign Regulation 801/2013 limited high-network-availability equipment — it names routers, switches, access points, hubs and modems — to 8 watts in networked standby. (Those rules have since been consolidated into Regulation 2023/826.) Actual consumption while handling traffic can be higher.

Why the Adapter Rating Overstates It

The label on a router’s power adapter, for example 12 V and 1.5 A, gives the maximum the adapter can supply: 12 × 1.5 = 18 watts. A router does not draw that continuously; the adapter is sized with headroom for peaks and USB accessories. Using the adapter rating gives an upper bound, not the real number — handy as a worst case, but a measurement is much closer to reality.

From Watts to Dollars per Year

The formula:

watts × 24 hours × 365 days ÷ 1,000 = kWh per year

Then multiply by your electricity price. The US Energy Information Administration expects the average residential price in 2026 to be about 18.2 cents per kWh; your bill shows your own rate.

Worked examples at 18.2 ¢/kWh:

So a router and modem together drawing 15 watts cost roughly two dollars a month — real, but small compared with heating, cooling or a refrigerator.

Should You Turn the Router Off at Night?

Switching off for eight hours a night saves a third of the yearly figure — with the examples above, a few dollars a year. The downsides usually outweigh that:

• Smart devices go offline: cameras, alarms, thermostats, smart speakers and phones on Wi-Fi Calling stop working.
• Updates and backups often run at night, including automatic router firmware updates; see how to update router firmware.
• Some cable and fiber connections take minutes to come back after every power-up, and frequent cycling makes troubleshooting harder.

If saving power matters to you, a Wi-Fi schedule is the better tool: many routers can switch off Wi-Fi radios — or only the guest network — at set hours while keeping the router and wired devices running. Parental control schedules do the same for children’s devices without turning anything off.

A daily restart is not necessary for reliability either; see how often should you reboot your router.

Ways to Use Less Without Switching Off

Replace old equipment. Several old boxes in a row — a provider gateway plus your own router plus an old router used for ports — use more than one modern device. A gateway in bridge mode, or a switch instead of a second router, removes a box; see network switch vs router and double NAT.

Don’t oversize. A small apartment does not need a three-unit tri-band mesh system; see what to look for in a Wi-Fi router.

Unplug unused extras: spare extenders, powerline adapters and USB drives on the router.

Use energy-saving options if your router offers them, such as LED off, reduced transmit power or Wi-Fi schedules.