Your Office Electricity Bill Is Rising. How Much Power Does Your IT Equipment Consume?

Most office laptops and monitors cost tens of dollars a year each to run, not hundreds. The bigger lines on an office electricity bill come from equipment that stays on around the clock or draws a lot when it does: digital signage, network switches, servers and AI systems. At SP Group's published tariff of 31.16 cents per kWh including GST for October to December 2026, every watt that runs all year costs about S$2.73, and every watt used only during office hours costs about S$0.66.

This guide uses real power figures from store listings for the Dell Pro 24 Plus P2425DE monitor, ASUS ExpertBook B1 laptop, ASUS NUC 15 Pro mini PC, HPE Networking Instant On 1930 switch, Samsung QB55C signage display and ASUS Ascent GX10 AI system, and turns them into annual costs you can check against your own bill.

How much does each piece of office IT cost to run per year?

The table applies the 31.16 cents/kWh tariff to each product's published power figure. Assumptions are labelled: "office hours" means 8 hours a day, 22 days a month, 12 months (2,112 hours a year); "24/7" means 8,760 hours. Where only the power adapter rating is published, the figure is a ceiling, and real use will be lower.

Is the office electricity tariff in Singapore going up?

Not this quarter. SP Group's release of 30 September 2026 says household tariffs for 1 October to 31 December 2026 fall by 10.4%, or 3.32 cents per kWh before GST, and the overall tariff including non-households falls by an average of 10.6%, because natural gas prices were lower. SP Group reviews tariffs every quarter based on guidelines set by the Energy Market Authority, so the rate can move either way from one quarter to the next. If your office buys electricity from a retailer rather than at the regulated tariff, use the rate on your own bill in the sums below.

Why the adapter or power supply rating overstates real use

A laptop or mini PC adapter is sized for the worst moment, such as charging a flat battery under full load; most office work sits well below that. The same logic applies to desktop power supplies, as our post on why a 1000W PC power supply doesn't always mean better performance explains: wattage is capacity, not consumption. For a closer figure, use a datasheet's "operating" or "typical" number, or measure a sample machine with a plug-in power meter for a week.

Laptops, desktops or mini PCs: which costs least to run?

The ASUS ExpertBook B1 B1403CVA (S$1,499.00) ships with a 65 W USB-C adapter and a 42 Wh battery, and even at that adapter's full rating for every office hour the electricity comes to under S$43 a year. A compact desktop such as the ASUS NUC 15 Pro Tall with Core Ultra 5 225H (S$1,485.25) has a 120 W adapter and, per the listing, a processor configured at 40 W in that chassis, so everyday draw should sit well below the adapter ceiling. Towers with discrete graphics draw more; check the datasheet, not the power supply label. If you are weighing a mini PC against a tower for desk work, can a S$2,000 mini PC replace a desktop? covers the performance side.

Monitors and displays: where the watts hide

A modern office monitor is cheap to run. The Dell Pro 24 Plus P2425DE (S$373.37) lists 16.5 W operating and 0.3 W in standby, about S$11.50 a year for both together under our assumptions, and the listing shows ENERGY STAR 8.0. Its 185 W maximum is far higher because a USB-C hub monitor can also charge a laptop at up to 90 W and power USB devices, so when you budget for a USB-C desk, do not count the laptop's own charger on top. The single-cable desk is covered in One Desk, Three Devices, Too Many Cables. There's a Better Way.

Large displays are a different scale. The Samsung QB55C 55" smart signage display (S$1,350.00) lists 154 W in on mode and 0.5 W in sleep, and Samsung rates it for 16 hours a day, 7 days a week. Running it to that rating costs about S$280 a year; scheduling it to office hours only brings that to about S$101. In Singapore, NEA's Mandatory Energy Labelling Scheme covers televisions along with air-conditioners, refrigerators and other appliances, but computer monitors and PCs are not on that list, so for IT kit the datasheet figures and certifications such as ENERGY STAR are what you have to compare.

Always-on kit: switches, servers and AI systems

A fanless 24-port switch such as the HPE Networking Instant On 1930 24-port JL682A (S$408.00) has a maximum power rating of 22.6 W and no PoE, so even at that maximum around the clock it costs under S$62 a year. PoE switches are different: they also power the access points, phones and cameras plugged into them, so their budget belongs to those devices too.

Local AI is the newest big line. The ASUS Ascent GX10 1TB (S$7,200.00) runs from a supplied 240 W adapter. If it ran at that ceiling 24/7 as an always-on agent host, electricity would be about S$655 a year; used during office hours only, about S$158. Our post on the hidden costs of owning an AI workstation puts power alongside cooling, storage and support.

Worked example: a 20-desk office

Assumptions, all labelled: 20 desks, each with an ExpertBook B1 counted at its full 65 W adapter rating plus a P2425DE monitor at 16.5 W, used for office hours (2,112 hours a year); one Instant On 1930 switch at its 22.6 W maximum, 24/7; one QB55C signage display at 154 W for 16 hours a day; tariff 31.16 cents/kWh including GST.

• Desks: 3,442.56 kWh, about S$1,072.70 a year (an upper bound, since laptops rarely draw their full adapter rating).
• Switch: 197.98 kWh, about S$61.69 a year.
• Signage: 899.36 kWh, about S$280.24 a year.

Total: about S$1,414.63 a year. The single biggest saving in this example is not new hardware: putting the signage display on an office-hours schedule cuts its share by about S$179. For room-level choices that also shrink the estate you power, see Singapore Office Rent Isn't Getting Any Easier. Can Smarter Meeting Rooms Help? and Why Pay for a Huge Boardroom When Half Your Meetings Are Online?

Measure the always-on kit first. A laptop is rarely the problem; a screen nobody switches off usually is.

Five practical ways to cut IT electricity

1. Schedule signage and meeting-room displays to turn off outside office hours.
2. Set PC and monitor sleep timers through your device management policy rather than relying on users.
3. Count shared desks: fewer, better-equipped hot desks power fewer screens, as Hot Desking Sounds Great Until Nobody Can Connect Their Laptop discusses.
4. Retire forgotten always-on boxes.
5. Reuse your wattage list when sizing backup power; the UPS size calculator guide starts from the same numbers.

Buying energy-efficient office IT in Singapore

Prices above are as listed on 24 Oct 2026, and all six products were in stock at the time of writing. SourceIT supplies Dell, HPE and Samsung with local warranty, and ASUS with ASUS warranty support; confirm the term for your SKU when requesting a quote. Browse the ASUS NUC collection and Dell business monitors, and for office-wide refreshes see volume discounts and special pricing. Use Request for Quotation on the product page, call (65) 6978 3502 or email Sales@sourceit.com.sg.

Frequently asked questions

What is the electricity tariff in Singapore for October to December 2026? SP Group publishes 31.16 cents per kWh including GST, or 28.59 cents per kWh before GST, for 1 October to 31 December 2026. Offices buying from a retailer should use the rate on their own bill.

How do I work out the annual electricity cost of a device? Multiply watts by hours used per year, divide by 1,000 to get kWh, then multiply by the tariff. At 31.16 cents/kWh, 1 W running all year costs about S$2.73.

How much electricity does an office monitor use? The Dell Pro 24 Plus P2425DE lists 16.5 W operating and 0.3 W standby, about S$11.50 a year at office hours under our assumptions.

Does a laptop use its full adapter wattage? Rarely. The adapter is sized for peak demand such as charging while working hard. Treat the rating as a ceiling and measure a sample machine for a closer figure.

Are computer monitors covered by NEA energy labels? NEA's Mandatory Energy Labelling Scheme lists televisions, air-conditioners, refrigerators and other appliances, but not computer monitors or PCs. Compare datasheet power figures and certifications such as ENERGY STAR instead.

What costs the most to run in a typical office IT setup? Equipment that stays on for long hours: signage displays, always-on servers and AI systems, and PoE switches with many powered devices. Schedule displays and retire idle boxes first.