The radio was one of the biggest steps in the history of media transmission.
A radio allows us to communicate large distances using radio waves. This is a great advantage as you do not have to have one long piece of wire between the transmitter and receiver.
The radio allows us to unwind or work while listening to our favorite music and talk shows, from your bedroom, to your car, and many other places.
I could listen to the radio for hours on end (and I know I am not alone).
But, unfortunately electricity is not free. Operating a Radio (or any other electronic device) for long periods of time uses a certain amount of electricity.
This electricity which is provided by your power company has to be paid for.
So how much electricity does a radio use?
Since there are many types of radio available varying in size and complexity (as well as digital and analog) there isn’t a specific number that dictates how much electricity a radio will use. The amount of electricity a radio will use depends on its power rating. The power rating is defined in Watts.
In general a smaller AM/FM radio will use 1 watt per hour, whereas bigger digital radios will use up to 5 watts.
Again, these numbers will vary depending on the radio’s power ratings.
Knowing how much electricity your radio uses will allow to save money by limiting the amount of time you spend listening to it.
What is Power?
To know how much electricity a radio uses, we first need to understand the basics of how devices consume power.
Without getting into too much detail, every electronic/electric device requires a voltage and flow of electrons (which we know as electricity).
As you know everything in life requires a certain amount of energy.
Writing this article required me to use energy.
Getting up, making your bed, brushing your teeth requires energy.
I could go on, but you get the point.
Electronic devices like your radio are no different. They require a certain amount of energy to operate.
Power (Watt) is the rate at which energy is consumed.
Power is essentially a measure of electrical flow.
For example, the 5 watt radio will require more energy (and therefore electricity) to operate than the 1 watt radio.
Watt vs Watt Hours
While knowing the amount of Power (Watts) a device consumes is needed in many instances, it only tells us the amount of power consumed at that given time.
To know how much electricity your radio or any other device is consuming, we are concerned with Watt-Hours.
Watt-hours is a unit concerned with how much energy is being used in a given amount of time (hours in this instance).
Going back to the 5 watt radio example.
If the 5 watt radio is on continuously for an hour, then it will be using 5Wh (5 x 1) of energy.
If it is left on for 2 hours, it will use 10Wh (5 watts x 2 hours).
Calculating how much it costs per kWh
In an ideal world electricity would be an abundant source and we could power all our devices an infinite amount of time without having to pay for it.
Unfortunately, this is not an ideal world and electricity costs a certain amount.
The price that a power company charges per kWh all depends on the company itself.
There are many online calculators that you can input what device you are using, the power consumption, hours devices are on, cost per hour etc.
Check this great Energy Cost Calculator.
Knowing how much your power company is charging you and how much power your device is consuming, will help you save money by limiting the time you leave these devices on.
How to figure out how much power your radio is consuming?
We know that Power (watts) is how much energy a device consumes, and Watt-Hours is how much it consumes per hour.
But, how do we get the Power rating in the first place?
Many devices have their power ratings located on the underside of the device, or on a label attached to the cable, or listed in their operating manual.
It will be displayed as the Max Power.
If there isn’t a Max Power rating, but, a Voltage and Current rating, you can multiply these values to get the Power rating as; Power (watts) = Voltage (V) x Current (I).
The power rating found on many electronic/electric devices is usually the maximum power that the device will draw.
It does not mean that it will necessarily draw this amount all the time. This is just the maximum limit of power it will consume.
It depends how you are using that device.
For example, imagine you have a Fan with 3 speed settings and a power rating of 70 watts.
If you are running the Fan at its lowest speed it will not be consuming 70 watts of power.
But, having a maximum power rating gives us a general idea and lets us calculate the amount of electricity your radio will be consuming on a worst case scenario basis.
Batteries vs Power Outlet
Will using a radio powered by batteries use more electricity compared to if it was plugged into an outlet?
The answer is no. The only difference is that the batteries will run out of power after a certain amount of time (depending on its capacity).
Electricity provided to your radio via an outlet is constant and will remain operating as long you pay your electricity bills.
Which is the better option?
If you have a radio that can operate being plugged into a wall outlet or using batteries,it all depends on the situation.
If you are going to the beach and need to take the radio with you, you will need batteries to operate (unless your local beach has the luxury of a wall outlet).
However, if you are using your radio at home where wall outlets are available, your best option is the wall outlet.
Different types of radio
As there are many types of radio available, the amount of electricity one particular type of radio uses will vary depending on its features and complexities.
An alarm clock radio has an average power usage of 1Wh.
A portable radio-cd player has an average power of 1.6 Wh.
More complex Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) radios use an average of 5Wh
Older vs Newer Models
Radio technology has evolved over the years.
The first initial radios used passive components like (resistors, capacitors, inductors etc) to transmit radio waves.
A lot of energy is lost in the form of heat through these passive components making them an inefficient form of radio transmission.
Newer digital radio models use integrated circuitry that transmit radio waves more efficiently.
So, newer digital radios will use less electricity than their older counterparts.
AM vs FM
There are two primary forms of transmitting radio waves; Amplitude Modulation (AM) and Frequency Modulation (FM).
AM radio transmission transmits audio information by modifying the Amplitude (height) of the carrier wave (the wave that the input signal is added to when being transmitted).
The end result is that the Amplitude of the Carrier wave is modified depending on the Amplitude of the input audio signal.
FM radio transmission transmits an input audio signal by modifying the Frequency of the input audio signal.
The result is that when it is matched with the carrier wave, the frequency of the carrier wave is modified
So, which method uses more electricity to transmit radio waves?
The amplitude of the carrier wave is determined by voltage and current.
Since Power is a product of voltage and current, the higher the amplitude the more electricity required to transmit an AM wave.
So, AM radio transmission will require more electricity than FM transmission. However, in the grand scheme of it all, it is not going to greatly add to your power bill. It might be a minuscule amount more.
Final Thoughts
How much electricity your radio uses depends on many factors.
Factors like whether it is an older or newer model, the amount of features it has and how long you are using it for.
In general, the average radio will use 1 – 3 kWh worth of electricity.
If you want to be more certain however, you can check the power rating of your radio (either on the radio itself, or a label found on the cable, or in the manual) which will give you an indication of its maximum power usage.
Knowing how much electricity your radio uses will benefit you as you can cut down the time you have it operating for and save money.
