Code (in C):

#include <stdio.h>
#include <windows.h>
#include <powrprof.h>
#pragma comment(lib, "powrprof.lib")

int main(void)
{
    SYSTEM_BATTERY_STATE sbs = {0};
    CallNtPowerInformation(SystemBatteryState, NULL, 0, &sbs, sizeof(sbs));
    printf("Charge rate: %.1f W\n", (int)sbs.Rate / 1000.0);
    return 0;
}

Executable (base64; 1 KiB):

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
RBEAAAAAAAAAAAAAVhEAAAgQAAA8EQAAAAAAAAAAAAB8EQAAABAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYhEAAAAAAABMEQAAAAAAAPECcHJpbnRmAABtc3ZjcnQuZGxsAAAAAENhbGxOdFBvd2VySW5mb3JtYXRpb24AAFBPV1JQUk9GLmRsbAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA==

which can be decoded with online tools, e.g. this one.

Output:

Charge rate: -18.0 W

Of course, it's only querying the battery for the information, so its accuracy is entirely dependent on the battery's. :)

Answer from user541686 on Stack Exchange
🌐
Tom's Guide
tomsguide.com › computing › software
How to measure your PC's power usage | Tom's Guide
July 22, 2024 - You can approximate the bulk of ... by using software that taps into the sensors on various bits of your computer hardware. Here, we'll be using HWiNFO. This method is not very accurate, and will only measure the two main power drawing components: the CPU and GPU. However, this will be the bulk to your PC's power draw. ... This also doesn't include your monitor/laptop display — use the wattage meter method above to find out full system consumption...
🌐
WattSeal
wattseal.com
WattSeal — Real-time PC power consumption monitor
See your total PC consumption in watts, updated live. Understand your baseline usage at a glance — no technical knowledge needed. WattSeal reads directly from your PC's built-in hardware sensors via RAPL and NVML — no smart plug or external hardware required. See power usage per application, measured in watts, converted to euros, and tracked in CO₂. No other tool does this. As PC carbon footprint software, WattSeal automatically converts your power usage to CO₂ based on your local grid's carbon intensity.
Discussions

Recommended software to measure total pc power consumption?
In HWInfo you can see the power draw of each component, but not the whole system AFAIK. You either need a PSU with monitoring built in or a physical testing device. More on reddit.com
🌐 r/pcmasterrace
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2
November 30, 2022
windows - Power consumption of the built-in monitor on my laptop - Software Recommendations Stack Exchange
IMHO if you want to see the power ... power consumption in different usage scenarios. ... Thanks for the info! ... Find the answer to your question by asking. Ask question ... See similar questions with these tags. ... 2 Is there a way to close the monitor but does not lock the computer for Windows 8.1, where this setting option is unavailable · 5 Linux alternative to Microsoft PowerToys' FancyZones · 1 Software to monitor ... More on softwarerecs.stackexchange.com
🌐 softwarerecs.stackexchange.com
Monitor pc power consumption
Remember to check our discord where you can get faster responses! https://discord.com/invite/vaZP7KD I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns. More on reddit.com
🌐 r/computer
2
2
November 12, 2023
Monitor pc power consumption?
Get a kilowatt meter and track it that way. There are plenty on the market and a lot of them will track up to a year. That’s what I use for any mining I do and check it monthly. Alternatively, if you have a whole house monitoring system you can track it that way. I use the Emporia system and love it. There are also a number of smart outlets that can now track. Those could be pulled into an app and possibly tracked automatically. More on reddit.com
🌐 r/MysteriumNetwork
1
2
November 12, 2023
People also ask

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WattSeal runs a lightweight background process that reads hardware telemetry directly via RAPL and NVML interfaces. It then uses kernel-level process accounting to accurately attribute the measured power draw to individual running applications in real time.
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makeuseof.com › home › windows › the 4 best windows software tools for energy management
The 4 Best Windows Software Tools for Energy Management
June 10, 2023 - There are many different energy management software tools available for Windows users, both free and paid, and some of the best include: Screenshot by Tayo Sogbesan - No Attribution Required · BatteryCare provides several power optimization tools to help to extend battery life and reduce energy consumption. These tools monitor your laptop’s power usage in real-time and provide detailed information about which applications and processes consume the most power.
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The Windows Club
thewindowsclub.com › the windows club › downloads › how to measure your pc's total power consumption
How to measure your PC's total power consumption
March 27, 2025 - Check Power consumption of your PC using these free PC Power Consumption and Supply Calculator software & hardware for Windows 11/10.
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Digital Trends
digitaltrends.com › home › computing › how tos
How to measure your PC's power use, and why it matters - Digital Trends
February 21, 2024 - Another web-based monitoring tool you can use is the Be Quiet PSU Calculator. Opting for a more a la carte approach to your PC’s individual components, Be Quiet allows you to input stats for everything from your CPU and GPU to graphics cards and cooling systems. After inputting all the values, click the Calculate button at the bottom of the page to figure out what your PC’s peak power consumption is.
Top answer
1 of 4
3

Code (in C):

#include <stdio.h>
#include <windows.h>
#include <powrprof.h>
#pragma comment(lib, "powrprof.lib")

int main(void)
{
    SYSTEM_BATTERY_STATE sbs = {0};
    CallNtPowerInformation(SystemBatteryState, NULL, 0, &sbs, sizeof(sbs));
    printf("Charge rate: %.1f W\n", (int)sbs.Rate / 1000.0);
    return 0;
}

Executable (base64; 1 KiB):

TVqQAAMAAAAEAAAA//8AALgAAAAAAAAAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAyAAAAA4fug4AtAnNIbgBTM0hVGhpcyBwcm9ncmFtIGNhbm5vdCBiZSBydW4gaW4gRE9TIG1vZGUuDQ0KJAAAAAAAAABX6uPGE4uNlROLjZUTi42V0ISClRKLjZUTi4yVEYuNldCE0JUWi42V0ITulRKLjZXQhNeVEouNlVJpY2gTi42VAAAAAAAAAABQRQAATAEBADJq1E4AAAAAAAAAAOAADwELAQcKAAIAAAAAAAAAAAAAMBAAAAAQAAAAIAAAAABAAAAQAAAAAgAABAAAAAAAAAAEAAAAAAAAAAAgAAAAAgAAAAAAAAMAAAQAABAAABAAAAAAEAAAEAAAAAAAABAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARAAA8AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
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
RBEAAAAAAAAAAAAAVhEAAAgQAAA8EQAAAAAAAAAAAAB8EQAAABAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYhEAAAAAAABMEQAAAAAAAPECcHJpbnRmAABtc3ZjcnQuZGxsAAAAAENhbGxOdFBvd2VySW5mb3JtYXRpb24AAFBPV1JQUk9GLmRsbAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA==

which can be decoded with online tools, e.g. this one.

Output:

Charge rate: -18.0 W

Of course, it's only querying the battery for the information, so its accuracy is entirely dependent on the battery's. :)

2 of 4
3

Update: April 2026

❌ Joulmeter is no longer available, it has been deprecated and removed by Microsoft.

Note: It is possible to download the app from some third-party mirror sites, however opening the app and attempting to perform an initial calibration will cause the app to crash as it relies on cloud assets that are no longer reachable.


Original Answer: November 2011

At last, I have found a solution! Microsoft has a free Research Labs program called Joulemeter which estimates power usage of the overall system and various components:

Joulemeter is a software tool that estimates the power consumption of your computer. It tracks computer resources, such as CPU utilization and screen brightness, and estimates power usage.

On laptops it uses internal power-measuring circuitry which I presume is present in most computers. For desktop computers, it can make estimates or use an external power measuring device to calibrate itself.

Unfortunately, I ran into some errors with the automatic calibration on my laptop (possibly related to the fact that HP batteries don't provide as much battery usage data as other laptops do), but was able to calibrate it manually.

I just found this and haven't had much time to play with it yet, but it looks like it'll do the job!

🌐
Windows Report
windowsreport.com › software › utilities & tools › power supply test software
5 Best PSU Test Software for Your Computer’s Power Supply
July 22, 2025 - ... Use Iolo to automate complex processes and speed up functions while maintaining high security. ... Open Hardware Monitor is a free open-source tool that can monitor temperature sensors, fan speeds, load, and voltages, and serve as PSU test ...
Find elsewhere
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ElectronicsHub
electronicshub.org › home › pc power consumption monitor
PC Power Consumption Monitor
July 3, 2024 - It also measures the power impact of software installed in the computer like music /movie player, browser, etc. Let us understand with the help of an example – Suppose you want to watch a movie on your laptop (on battery level) and want to know an optimal display brightness to achieve the objective. Joulemeter gives the right solution by providing accurate readings of power consumption at various screen brightness and the energy impact of that particular movie player.
🌐
Steemit
steemit.com › software › @wip3out › your-laptop-s-power-consumption-with-just-a-software
Your laptop's power consumption with just a software — Steemit
June 30, 2018 - Oddly enough, Joulemeter does not seem to detect my graphics card consumption. There are two other tabs. The "About" tab gives you some background info about the project. And the "Instructions" tab gives you more information about how to setup the software in case it seems not working as expected. That's all! I hope this little piece of utility was helpful. For me personally, I was kind of surprised to learn that my monitor was consuming around 10,55 W on its own.
🌐
CGDirector
cgdirector.com › home › hardware › how to check your pc’s power consumption [4 methods]
How To Check Your PC’s Power Consumption [4 Methods]
November 11, 2023 - Just go to the website, download the software, and unpack the zip archive. It is a portable tool and requires no installation. It is also compatible with all versions of Windows — even the old, archaic ones. Once you run the program, it’ll collect data from all of your components — information like monitor voltages, memory load and data usage, temperatures, fan speeds, and so on. Once done, it’ll give you real-time readings of your individual components’ power usage.
🌐
Computer Hope
computerhope.com › issues › ch002301.htm
How to Check a PC's Power Consumption
How to install software. After installing and launching Open Hardware Monitor, you can expand each component's section to see how many watts it is currently using. There is a handy online tool offered by OuterVision that approximates your system's ...
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Microsoft Store
apps.microsoft.com › detail › 9nk2b0j0s633
Energy Meter - Free download and install on Windows | Microsoft Store
Energy Meter is a comprehensive and innovative app that allows you to monitor and control your energy consumption Energy Meter keeps track of how much water, gas and energy you use.
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Quora
quora.com › Is-there-a-software-that-can-monitor-the-power-consumption-of-a-computer
Is there a software that can monitor the power consumption of a computer? - Quora
Answer (1 of 35): To answer the OP more literally, yes there is software that can monitor the power consumption of a computer. But, as you’ve probably gathered from the other replies, the extent of which can be measured may be limited by hardware, software, or require additional components ...
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List Of Freeware
listoffreeware.com › free-power-management-software-windows
6 Best Free Power Management Software For Windows
April 4, 2018 - In this software, you can also feed the hardware information like System Type (desktop or laptop), Monitor Types (LCD, LED, CRT), and Monitor Size (16, 19, 23 inches) to this software according to which, it provides you the best possible power efficiency. ... SmartPower is a completely free power management software for Windows. This software helps you significantly reduce the power consumption by Hibernating, Suspending, or Shutting down the PC according to configurable rules.
🌐
Make Tech Easier
maketecheasier.com › home › pc guides › how to measure your pc’s power consumption
How to Measure Your PC's Power Consumption - Make Tech Easier
June 24, 2022 - There are a few different ones available; however, one of the most popular is Open Hardware Monitor. Open Hardware Monitor is a free, open-source application that gives users real-time power draw readouts.
🌐
Reddit
reddit.com › r/pcmasterrace › recommended software to measure total pc power consumption?
r/pcmasterrace on Reddit: Recommended software to measure total pc power consumption?
November 30, 2022 - In HWInfo you can see the power draw of each component, but not the whole system AFAIK. You either need a PSU with monitoring built in or a physical testing device.
🌐
Stack Exchange
softwarerecs.stackexchange.com › questions › 83846 › power-consumption-of-the-built-in-monitor-on-my-laptop
windows - Power consumption of the built-in monitor on my laptop - Software Recommendations Stack Exchange
I am looking for a program that can show the power consumption of my built-in monitor on my laptop (MSI GS76, Windows 10). LocalCooling (gratis, non-portable) (mirror) sums up all the displays, bu...
🌐
Microsoft
microsoft.com › store › apps › 9N8S8M8226SH
PowerAnalyzer - Free download and install on Windows | Microsoft Store
August 6, 2025 - Connect to your PowerAnalyzer with USB PowerAnalyzer is a good helper for testing power consumption and troubleshooting power consumption problems! Now supports: View current waveform Record historical data Analyze data for a specified time ...