If you plan to use Starlink for your RV or off-grid cabin, knowing the electrical specifications for Starlink is critical. Even if are just using Starlink at home on the grid, you may be wondering how much power the Starlink dish uses.
In this article, I will explain the power consumption for all three models of the Starlink antenna: Standard/RV, High Performance, and the original round dish. I will also explain the factors that affect power consumption.
Standard and RV Starlink
The Standard Starlink hardware uses 50-75 watts on average. This includes the antenna, router, power supply, and cables.
When there is no network activity, the Standard Starlink uses about 20 watts to remain connected to the satellite network.
Starlink runs off of 100-240V, 50-60Hz. It draws up to 2 amps. Currently, Starlink does not offer a DC power supply for Starlink RV. I did build my own 12V DC power supply, so check that tutorial out if you are interested.
High Performance Starlink
The High Performance Starlink dish uses 110-150 watts on average. This includes the antenna, router, power supply, and cables.
When idle, High Performance uses about 45 watts.
High Performance runs off of 100-240V, 50-60Hz, and draws up to 4.5 amps.
Original (round) Starlink
The original, round Starlink dish uses 65-100 watts on average. Starlink didn’t publish the official specifications for the round dish, but I was able to estimate this amount based on my own experience and reports from other users.
Idle usage is between 40-60 watts.
The round dish runs off of 100-240V, 50-60Hz, and it is estimated to use up to about 5 amps.
Factors that affect power consumption
The amount of power that Starlink draws depends on many factors. For example, the Starlink dish will use additional power when it’s snowing. It will use less power when nobody is downloading or uploading anything.
Weather
Weather is the biggest factor to consider in terms of power consumption. During rain or snow, more transmitting and receiving power is required, so power usage can increase significantly. The dish will also automatically melt snow and ice, which uses even more power.
Network activity
Starlink is an antenna that receives and transmits data from satellites orbiting overhead. It takes more power to transmit data than to receive it. If you are uploading data, Starlink will use more power. If you are downloading, Starlink uses less power.
When there is no network activity (idle), Starlink still uses a bit of power, but it is significantly less than when you are downloading or uploading.
Obstructions
If you have trees or other obstructions that block the signal from the Starlink satellites, your Starlink will use more power as it tries to continually re-establish a connection with the satellites.
Related: Sleep Schedule Feature Added To Starlink App
Your numbers are all over the place…uses up to 100W but @ 120V draws up to 5A? That’s over 500-600W nominal.
What do the specs on the power supply actually say? They’re required to be stamped on the power supply and device, by law.
Those are the ratings from the power supply. So there will be a difference between what the hardware will actually use, vs what the power supply is rated at.
So if I power it off for the night and turn it back on in the morning does it have to recycle through a start up process or will it just resume connectivity.
It will just resume connectivity after a few minutes of searching for satellites. You won’t have to go through the setup process again.
Off grid issues do create some doubt as to affordability. Sleep schedule is helpful, but would bypass to a low power router and turning off wifi add further savings?
It could potentially. But just staying connected to the satellites seems to be the main power draw when you aren’t actively using internet services.
How much does it cost to run a starlink system per hour. 75 to 100 watts is stated however it does not give over what period this wattage is used ie ( per hour /per day).
The wattage would be the load at any given time, not as a rate.
How much does it cost to run a starlink system per hour?
Depends on your electricity rate.
Thank you for so many ads blocking content, captchas and more.
After all who is here just seeking specific information.
Noah, 2A at 120V is 240W not 50-75W for the standard dish, right?
True, the 2A is just the rating on the power supply output, not necessarily how much it would ever use.
Can you turn it off when not using it (overnight)? Maybe save 1 kilowatt-hour per day for HP hardware?
You could, although I wouldn’t recommend it unless it’s the mobile/RV/off-grid use case. Idle power usage is so low that realistically I don’t think it would be worth being without internet overnight for the savings. Lots of devices are still using data overnight. For example, phone cloud backup, Starlink firmware updates, etc.
I’m on solar power. At times we turn it off completely will this cause a problem?
No, it shouldn’t cause an issue.
On the Standard model, between 50 -75 is exactly 62.5 Watts x 24 hours = 1,5 kWh per day, on a off-grid cabin, thats huuuge. So, “I don’t think it would be worth being without internet overnight for the savings” on a sububurban home, got it, but your article begins with “If you plan to use Starlink for your RV or off-grid cabin”. Man, empathy please!
Starlink just released a sleep schedule feature which might interest those living off-grid:
https://www.starlinkhardware.com/sleep-schedule-feature-added-to-starlink-app/
Drops power down to around 20-25 watts during the sleep hours.
It’s also important to note the 50-75w is for active use, the dish could idle as low as 20 watts in good weather with no activity. So the math there is worst case scenario. If you have snow or rain, power usage will be towards 100w unless you turn off the snow melting function.
I use solar power. At certain times we turn it completely off for extended periods. Will this cause a negative impact?
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Hey I have a friend that is a teacher in Ukraine. They’re often without power for the majority of the day with the time they do have power everything must’ve charged. I’m guess she’s at most 3 hours a day with power. I want to get her a starlink so she can conduct her lessons on line and a power stations that’s available for her to pick up which is 600-630w/h capacity and takes four hours to fully charge. I’m not a math or electric person so this stuff i beyond me. She’d need to use the power station to power her laptop for class possibly and lamp and the starlink. Is this a pipe dream idea or is it at All plausible ? Any suggestion or pointing me to the right resource would be extremely appreciated. I’m next to almost calling Elon for some advice. Ha thanks.
If we say the Starlink dish uses 75 watts on average, a 600 w/h power source would power the dish for 8 hours or so, assuming perfect efficiency and no other devices connected. Being conservative, with a laptop and projector, you can probably get several hours of battery life from this power source.
So when the power station dies what happens to the starlink unit?
It would just power down and lose internet connectivity. It doesn’t harm the equipment.
Also, i she has a fuel generator as back up that is single phased with 220v (50hz) would that be too much ?
Nope, the power supply can handle inputs of 100-240V, 50-60Hz, so that should work fine.
I don’t mind the ads.. .. Thanks for your time on hardware I use… I have to set up a clients page with ads how much u pullin in a week? I know that’s personal..