How much power does a device actually need?
18 February 2018
In all the excitement about wireless power technology, the amount of power that a device needs to operate is sometimes forgotten.
Different devices need different amounts of power to operate or charge. Here are a few typical power consumption values, expressed in watts:
Smoke detector | 0.0001 Watt |
Wireless motion sensor | 0.03 Watt |
Smart door lock | 0.1 Watt |
Nest smart thermostat | 1 Watt |
Smartphone | 2 Watt |
Wireless security camera | 3 Watt |
Toy drone | 5 Watt |
Wireless surround speaker | 10 Watt |
LED light | 20 Watt |
Notebook PC | 40 Watt |
LED TV | 75 Watt |
Refrigerator | 150 Watt |
Electric vehicle | 10000 Watt |
When choosing wireless power technology for your devices, it is wise to match their power consumption with the technology that can deliver those amounts of power. If your wireless technology can only deliver a few milliwatts, it might be useless to power the devices that you have in mind.