FREE RESIN PRINTING TOOL
What does your resin printer cost in electricity?
Use your average printer wattage, print duration and local tariff. Add washing and curing to see the power cost of one successful plate or finished model.
How the calculation works
Electrical energy in kilowatt-hours is average power in watts divided by 1,000, multiplied by hours. The calculator counts printing for every attempted plate and washing and curing once for a successful plate. Failed attempts therefore increase expected printer energy per successful plate.
Example: A printer averaging 100 W for six hours uses 0.6 kWh. At £0.27/kWh, printing electricity is about £0.16 per attempt. A ten-minute wash at 30 W adds 0.005 kWh and a ten-minute cure at 40 W adds roughly 0.0067 kWh. At 10% failed plates, the expected total is about £0.18 per successful plate, or £0.02 per model when the plate produces ten usable models.
Average watts versus the power adapter rating
An adapter's printed wattage is its capacity. The machine's actual draw can change with its screen, UV source, motor and any heater. For a better estimate, use a plug-in energy meter to record kWh over a representative print, then divide by its duration to derive average watts. Check the wash and cure stations separately if you use them.
Does electricity dominate resin printing cost?
Often it is a relatively small part of a desktop resin print, but it depends on print duration, heated equipment and your tariff. The consumables, failures and time spent processing the print can be more significant. Read the full cost breakdown and enter your own material and labour values in the true cost calculator.
What about heaters, ventilation and standby?
This focused estimate covers the printer and optional wash/cure stations. A heater or ventilation unit running during printing can add materially to consumption. Measure its average watts and add that to the printer watts for the hours it runs, or calculate its energy separately. Standby energy outside a run and your electricity standing charge are excluded.
How are failures handled?
The model assumes each attempt has the same probability of success. If 10% fail, expected attempts per successful plate are 1 ÷ 0.9, about 1.11. Printing power is therefore divided by 0.9; washing and curing are applied once after success. If failed plates also need washing, calculate that additional energy separately.