Charging an iPhone seems like a negligible cost, but how much does it actually impact your electricity bill? With cafes occasionally hesitating to let customers charge their devices, it’s worth delving into the real cost of powering up the latest iPhone models.
Here, we break down the energy usage and cost associated with charging an iPhone, particularly the newer iPhone 15 series.
Understanding the Cost of Charging an iPhone
Battery Capacity and Energy Consumption
Let’s start with the battery specifications of the latest iPhone models:
- iPhone 15: 3,349 mAh, 12.981 Wh
- iPhone 15 Plus: 4,383 mAh, 16.950 Wh
- iPhone 15 Pro: 3,274 mAh, 12.700 Wh
- iPhone 15 Pro Max: 4,422 mAh, 17.109 Wh
These numbers show the watt-hours (Wh), which is a measure of electrical energy equivalent to a power consumption of one watt for one hour.
Calculating the Cost
To calculate the cost of a full charge, we use the average price of electricity. Assuming the cost of electricity is €0.15 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), we can convert the iPhone’s watt-hours to kilowatt-hours (since 1 kWh = 1,000 Wh) and calculate the cost:
- iPhone 15: 12.981 Wh = 0.012981 kWh → Cost per charge = 0.012981 kWh * €0.15 = €0.00194715
- iPhone 15 Plus: 16.950 Wh = 0.016950 kWh → Cost per charge = 0.016950 kWh * €0.15 = €0.0025425
- iPhone 15 Pro: 12.700 Wh = 0.0127 kWh → Cost per charge = 0.0127 kWh * €0.15 = €0.001905
- iPhone 15 Pro Max: 17.109 Wh = 0.017109 kWh → Cost per charge = 0.017109 kWh * €0.15 = €0.00256635
Yearly Cost Analysis
Calculating further, charging an iPhone every day for a year would amount to:
- iPhone 15: €0.00194715 * 365 = €0.71
- iPhone 15 Plus: €0.0025425 * 365 = €0.93
- iPhone 15 Pro: €0.001905 * 365 = €0.70
- iPhone 15 Pro Max: €0.00256635 * 365 = €0.94
Cost Considerations
These calculations show that the cost of charging an iPhone, even the latest models with larger batteries, is incredibly low—less than one euro per year if charged daily. This demonstrates that the energy cost of charging an iPhone is almost negligible in the context of an average electricity bill.
Conclusion
The myth that charging your iPhone at a cafe or any public place could be costly is just that—a myth. The actual cost is so low that it’s barely a blip on the financial radar. Next time you’re in need of a charge and someone hesitates, you can reassure them with these figures. Charging an iPhone is not only convenient but also economically insignificant.