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The cost depends on two numbers: your PC’s average power draw at the wall while it streams, and your household’s marginal electricity rate. For a 30-day month, each average watt adds 0.72 kWh. At an illustrative ₹4–₹10 per kWh, a PC averaging 100 W would use 72 kWh and add about ₹288–₹720 to the bill. That is an arithmetic example, not a measured gaming-PC result or a universal Indian tariff.

Estimate the monthly electricity cost

Use the PC’s average wall-side watts during the actual streaming workload—not its power-supply rating—and the marginal rate for the extra units on your bill.

Monthly energy (kWh) = average watts × 0.72

Monthly cost = monthly energy (kWh) × marginal ₹/kWh

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The factor 0.72 represents 720 operating hours in a 30-day month divided by 1,000 watts per kilowatt. For a year, use 8,760 hours rather than assuming every month has 30 days.

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Illustrative 30-day scenarios

These are calculations at assumed average wall draws and rates, not measurements of any particular PC:

Average wall draw Energy for 30 days Cost at ₹4/kWh Cost at ₹10/kWh
50 W 36 kWh ₹144 ₹360
100 W 72 kWh ₹288 ₹720
200 W 144 kWh ₹576 ₹1,440

For example, if your measured average is 100 W, calculate 100 × 0.72 = 72 kWh for a 30-day month, then multiply 72 by the applicable marginal rate. Actual cost may differ if your bill crosses a tariff slab or includes duties and adjustments.

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Measure the PC’s real streaming power draw

A gaming PC’s PSU rating describes its capacity, not its continuous electricity use. Actual draw depends on the components and workload, including whether encoding uses the GPU’s hardware encoder or the CPU, the output resolution and frame rate, power limits, background tasks and connected devices.

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  1. Use a plug-in electricity meter or kWh energy monitor rated for your outlet and the equipment’s electrical load. Check outlet compatibility and the device rating before connecting it.
  2. Connect the PC, then run the same streaming workload and output settings you intend to use continuously. Include a representative video, audio and encoding load.
  3. Measure over a representative period—ideally a full day—and use the average watts shown by the meter. If it reports cumulative kWh instead, divide the energy used by the measurement hours and multiply by 1,000 to get average watts.
  4. Decide whether to include the monitor, networking equipment, capture devices, speakers or other peripherals. Meter them too if you want their electricity included; otherwise, count only the PC.
  5. Apply the monthly formula to the average wall draw. If the PC already runs for part of the day, count only the additional operating time and energy caused by 24/7 streaming when estimating incremental cost.

Use the right Indian electricity rate

There is no single household electricity rate for all of India. Rates vary by state and distribution company (DISCOM), and bills can include consumption slabs, fixed charges, duties and subsidies. The relevant input is the marginal cost of the additional units, not necessarily the average rupees per unit on the bill.

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Start with your latest bill and your DISCOM’s current tariff schedule. The Central Electricity Authority’s March 2026 tariff compendium is a route to state schedules. The Rural Electrification Corporation’s FY 2025-26 comparison uses a representative domestic case of a 3 kW connection and 100 units per month; that comparison is useful context, not a universal rate or necessarily the price of your next unit.

If adding the PC could push monthly consumption into another slab, estimate the bill with and without the PC, then subtract the two totals. A single average ₹/kWh can misstate the extra charge in that situation. Fixed charges generally do not belong in the added-device estimate unless use changes the applicable load category or another billing condition.

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How streaming settings affect the estimate

Video settings influence the encoding workload, but they do not determine power use by themselves. The particular PC, encoding method and activity on the system all matter. YouTube’s current encoder guidance lists RTMP/RTMPS ingestion options including H.264, H.265/HEVC and AV1, frame rates up to 60 fps, and constant-bitrate encoding. Its recommendations vary by codec, resolution and frame rate.

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YouTube encoder example Recommended bitrate
H.264, 1080p30 5–14 Mbps
H.264, 1080p60 6–17 Mbps
AV1 or H.265, 1080p30 10 Mbps
AV1 or H.265, 1080p60 12 Mbps

These are encoder settings, not power-consumption benchmarks. YouTube also recommends reliable upload bandwidth and roughly 20% more available upload capacity than the total stream bitrate. Its network tips explain the upload considerations. Test with representative audio and motion and check stream health; the encoder guidance specifically advises testing before going live.

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Check YouTube live-stream eligibility separately

Electricity cost does not establish whether a channel can stream. For encoder-based live streaming, YouTube says the channel must be verified and must have had no live-streaming restrictions in the previous 90 days. Its live-streaming tips recommend setting up and testing in advance and monitoring stream quality.

Also make sure you have the rights needed for the video and audio you stream. A long-running or repeated broadcast does not make copyrighted material permissible; review YouTube’s applicable copyright rules and channel policies before scheduling content.

Account for downtime and the existing PC schedule

A 24/7 estimate assumes 720 hours of operation in a 30-day month. Power cuts, reboots, maintenance and stream interruptions reduce actual energy use; months of different lengths and leap years change the arithmetic. If the computer is already on for gaming or other work, compare its measured consumption in that existing state with its consumption during streaming, and charge only the difference attributable to streaming.

What’s actually slowing this PC down?

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