There is no fixed electricity cost for a 1080p YouTube loop stream: it depends on the PC’s average power draw at the wall, how many hours it runs, and your electricity rate. Calculate it as (average watts ÷ 1,000) × operating hours × price per kWh. As an illustration, a PC drawing 100 W continuously for 30 days would use 72 kWh and cost about $12.46 at the 2025 U.S. residential average rate. That is an arithmetic example, not a measurement of any particular low-end PC.
Estimate the electricity cost for your PC
Use the computer’s average wall power while it is streaming—not the wattage printed on its power supply. Convert watts to kilowatts, multiply by the actual operating hours, then multiply by your electricity price per kilowatt-hour (kWh).
The examples below assume a 30-day month running 24 hours a day, or 720 hours, and use the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s 2025 national residential average of 17.30¢/kWh. The wattages are assumptions, not measured results for a particular PC.
| Assumed average PC draw | Energy in 30 days at 24 hours/day | Illustrative monthly cost |
|---|---|---|
| 50 W | 36 kWh | $6.23 |
| 100 W | 72 kWh | $12.46 |
| 150 W | 108 kWh | $18.68 |
These figures cover only the assumed PC load. If the stream also means a monitor, router, or other equipment stays on, measure or estimate those loads separately and add them. A monitor that is already on for other reasons may not be an additional cost caused by streaming.
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Use your own electricity rate
The EIA’s 17.30¢/kWh figure is a 2025 U.S. national residential average, not a universal rate. Your bill may use a different rate, time-of-use pricing, or fixed charges that a simple per-kWh estimate does not capture. The EIA reports a 2025 state range of 8.20¢/kWh in North Dakota to 35.72¢/kWh in Hawaii across all customer types; that range is not residential-only. See the EIA explanation of electricity prices and factors affecting them.
Measure the actual wall draw instead of guessing
A PC’s power-supply rating is not its normal consumption. The most useful estimate comes from measuring the whole computer at the outlet while it is doing the work you plan to leave running.
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- Connect the PC to a plug-in electricity usage monitor suited to your outlet and region.
- Run the intended stream setup long enough to represent normal operation, including the encoder and scenes you will actually use.
- Record the average watts or energy use shown by the meter. If it reports accumulated kWh over a period, use that measured energy directly for the same period rather than assuming a constant draw.
- Apply your bill’s effective per-kWh rate and scale to your intended schedule. For a continuously running stream, a 30-day month is 720 hours.
- If other devices remain powered because of the stream, meter them separately or make clear that your estimate excludes them.
What 1080p settings mean for stream quality and PC load
The 1080p label alone does not determine electricity use or whether an older PC can keep streaming. Encoding method, frame rate, scene complexity, and the particular hardware all matter. A static loop may be less demanding than a complex scene, but that is a general expectation, not a measured guarantee for a specific computer.
| YouTube H.264 output | Recommended bitrate range | Other relevant guidance |
|---|---|---|
| 1080p at 30 fps | 5–14 Mbps | CBR; two-second keyframe interval recommended, not over four seconds |
| 1080p at 60 fps | 6–17 Mbps | CBR; two-second keyframe interval recommended, not over four seconds |
These are YouTube’s H.264 live-encoder recommendations, not a promise that a low-end PC, encoder, or internet connection can sustain every setting. Check YouTube’s current live encoder settings, bitrates, and resolutions guidance and test your connection before relying on the stream.
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Check whether a low-end PC can sustain the stream
OBS Project cautions: “Having a compatible system does not guarantee that it is capable of streaming or recording using OBS Studio.” Its system requirements guidance says CPU needs vary with encoder, resolution, frame rate, and scene complexity (OBS Project: System Requirements, page dated 2021-08-25).
Choose frame rate and resolution for stability
If the computer cannot maintain the desired output, OBS recommends lowering output resolution; if 60 fps is not working, try 30 fps. The lower frame rate also corresponds to YouTube’s separate 1080p30 bitrate recommendation above. Consult OBS encoding performance troubleshooting when diagnosing encoder overload.
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Consider the available encoder
OBS generally recommends hardware encoding because it moves encoding work from the CPU to a dedicated component in a GPU, which can reduce performance impact. Support depends on the specific hardware and drivers. OBS also notes a trade-off: earlier-generation hardware encoders may produce lower image quality at a given bitrate than software encoding at its default veryfast preset. See OBS hardware encoding.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Test before leaving a loop unattended
- Configure OBS and YouTube with the resolution, frame rate, encoder, bitrate, CBR rate control, and keyframe interval you intend to use. Keep your stream key private.
- Run a short test stream before depending on continuous operation. YouTube recommends testing and monitoring stream health; check its live control room for stream health and use OBS’s status indicators for dropped frames or encoding lag.
- Check temperatures and confirm the playlist or loop restarts as intended. These are practical checks, not guarantees that the system will remain stable indefinitely.
- If the test shows instability, reduce output resolution or frame rate, review encoder choice and bitrate, and test again before leaving the stream running.
Common cost and streaming problems
- The electricity estimate is much lower than the bill: Check whether the figure includes only the PC or also the display and network equipment. Confirm your actual rate and whether time-of-use pricing or fixed charges affect the bill.
- You used the power-supply rating as the wattage: That rating is not the computer’s ongoing wall draw. Measure the operating setup at the outlet.
- OBS reports encoding lag or the stream stutters: Lower the output resolution or frame rate, or try a supported hardware encoder. Scene complexity and encoder choice can change CPU demand.
- YouTube reports poor stream health or dropped frames: Check the stability of the upload connection and test at the selected bitrate. YouTube emphasizes a stable upload connection and recommends testing before a stream.
- The stream works briefly but fails during longer use: Recheck the loop behavior, temperatures, OBS status, and YouTube stream health during a representative test rather than assuming a short successful start proves unattended reliability.
Or let it run in the cloud
If you want the channel to keep looping without leaving a low-end PC on, StreamNeo runs uploaded videos to YouTube from the cloud. Upload a recording or build a playlist, add your YouTube stream key once, and go live. Nothing has to stay on at home; each slot streams the upload as made, up to 4K 60fps, at one flat price per slot. It can automatically recover if YouTube drops the stream. The first day is free with no card, one free day per account. Monthly billing is $9.99 per month. Start your free day with StreamNeo.
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