Linksys WRT1900AC Dual Band Smart WiFi Wireless AC Router Review

Linksys WRT1900AC: Power Consumption

Power consumption by your homes electronic devices continues to be a very important issue so we have made an attempt to present some simple power consumption tests on the various routers that we had. To measure idle usage, we reset each wireless routers to the default settings and plugged them with no devices connected to them. We then measured the power draw from each router at the wall with our P3 International P4400 Kill-A-Watt electric usage monitor.

Benchmark Results: As we examine the power use of the Linksys WRT1900AC, it is no surprise that this router comes out on the high end of the power consumption list. The WRT1900AC is one of the largest (and power hungry) networking units that we have had on our test bed. The 11.5 Watts used ticks up to around 18 under load.

Since most people will have their routers turned on for 24-hour a day operation, we think that examining power usage is an important benchmark. Total cost of ownership (TCO) is an important financial estimate that helps consumers direct and indirect costs of a product. In our TCO calculation we will be figuring up how much it costs to have a wireless router running per year in an idle state with the unit being installed 24-hours a day. We will be using 12.7 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) based on the bureau of labor statistics report showing that amount as the national average.

Benchmark Results: Performance from the WRT1900ACs dual-core processor, external antennas and multiple radio channels comes at a price. For some, this may not be a determining factor for purchase, but other might want to take note of these costs.