Electricity
3D printer electricity cost: five countries, three machines, one table
Most guides say "about $0.10 per kilowatt-hour" and stop. This page uses measured printer draw and the actual tariff for each country, so you can see what an hour of printing costs where you live.
Cost per hour of printing
Watts ÷ 1000 × price per kWh. The wattage is each printer's measured average draw while printing PLA, not the power-supply rating — an Ender 3 with a 270 W supply averages 125 W, and Bambu publishes 105 W for both the P1S and the X1C.
| Country | Entry FDM 125 W | Mid FDM 105 W | High-end FDM 105 W |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States (national average) 18.31 c/kWh | $0.023 | $0.019 | $0.019 |
| United Kingdom (Ofgem cap) 26.32 p/kWh | $0.044 | $0.037 | $0.037 |
| Germany (household average) 37.0 ct/kWh | $0.052 | $0.044 | $0.044 |
| Australia, NSW (Ausgrid retailer) 33.1364 c/kWh | $0.029 | $0.024 | $0.024 |
| Canada, Ontario (OEB tier 1) 11.2 c/kWh | $0.010 | $0.008 | $0.008 |
USD per hour of continuous printing. The wattage is the measured average draw for that printer class: 125 W measured on an Ender 3 (the published measurement closest to the entry tier), 105 W published by Bambu Lab for the P1S and the X1C.
Cost for a 100 g PLA part
The same part as the cost breakdown: 100 g of PLA taking 4.8 hours on the site's print-time model. Electricity only.
| Country and rate | Entry FDM 125 W | Mid FDM 105 W | High-end FDM 105 W |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States (national average) $0.1831/kWh | $0.11 | $0.09 | $0.09 |
| United Kingdom (Ofgem cap) $0.3521/kWh | $0.21 | $0.18 | $0.18 |
| Germany (household average) $0.4146/kWh | $0.25 | $0.21 | $0.21 |
| Australia, NSW (Ausgrid retailer) $0.2323/kWh | $0.14 | $0.12 | $0.12 |
| Canada, Ontario (OEB tier 1) $0.0798/kWh | $0.05 | $0.04 | $0.04 |
What the table shows
Country matters more than machine. The same entry-level printer costs $0.05 per 100 g part in Canada, Ontario and $0.25 in Germany — 5.2 times as much. No printer choice closes that gap.
The expensive machines are not the thirsty ones. The P1S and X1C both average 105 W on PLA, so their electricity line is identical; what you pay for is speed and reliability, not current. The entry printer draws 19% more than either, because an open-frame bed slinger heats a room instead of a chamber.
Enclosed printers are thirstier on ABS. The same machines average 140 W (P1S) and 150 W (X1C) on ABS, because the bed and chamber run hotter and the fans run longer — 33% and 43% more per hour than PLA on the same machine.
Electricity is still a small share of a part's cost. The table below puts it against the full cost of the 100 g part, filament included: from 2.7% in Canada, Ontario to 13.8% in Germany. Even at $0.4146/kWh it does not reach a fifth of the quote. Optimise filament purchasing — the density and price chart shows how far spool prices spread — before you optimise electricity.
Electricity as a share of the part
| Country | Rate / kWh | Share of a 100 g part's cost |
|---|---|---|
| United States (national average) | $0.1831 | 6.1% |
| United Kingdom (Ofgem cap) | $0.3521 | 11.7% |
| Germany (household average) | $0.4146 | 13.8% |
| Australia, NSW (Ausgrid retailer) | $0.2323 | 7.7% |
| Canada, Ontario (OEB tier 1) | $0.0798 | 2.7% |
Share = electricity for 4.8 hours on the entry printer ÷ subtotal before failure amortisation ($1.79), using the same 100 g PLA part throughout.
How to get your own number
- Measure the draw, do not read the label. A plug-in energy monitor costs less than a spool of filament. Print for an hour and read the average, or the total kWh for a whole print.
- Use your marginal rate. National averages include standing charges and taxes you may not pay at the margin; a time-of-use tariff can halve the per-kWh figure for overnight prints.
- Do not forget standby. An idle Bambu draws 5–10 W, which is 50–90 kWh a year if the machine is never switched off — more than the electricity in a hundred small parts.
- Put the number in the quote. It belongs as its own line, next to machine time, in the cost calculator.