As we all scramble around to try and save money and figure out which devices really do have a big impact on our electricity bill, let’s take a look at how much it costs to run a Sky box.
How much does it cost to run a Sky box? Quick Summary
A difficult question to answer as it depends on the Sky box that you have and how often you use it. However, the average Sky Q box holder could have as much as £72 per year added to their electricity bills.
As the cost of living continues to rise, I know many of us are struggling to cope with increasing bills. And one of the toughest costs we’re facing is the spiralling price of electricity.
As we naturally look to tighten our belts, we search for ways to reduce our usage and cut those bills. But should we really worry about how much our Sky box costs to run?
Which box do you have?
So, to start our calculations, we need to figure out which Sky box you have as they use different amounts of power. There are three main boxes available:
- Sky Q Mini
- Sky Q 1TB
- Sky Q 2TB
Sky boxes consume different amounts of electricity
Each Sky Q box has three main modes which will affect how much power it uses:
- Passive standby (Eco mode)
- Active standby
- On
How much power does a Sky box use?
| Sky Q Mini | Sky Q 1TB | Sky Q 2TB | |
| Passive standby | 0.4W | 0.4W | 0.4W |
| Active standby | 9.5W | 17.7W | 26.4W |
| On | 10.1W | 20.1W | 34.1W |
So, how much will that cost?
To calculate how much each box costs to operate, I’m going to assume that the rate you pay for each unit of electricity is 34 pence per kWh. This is just above the price cap set for October 2022, which will probably rise again in 2023.
As I said above, how much you pay really depends on your usage.
Let’s say that you use your box for 5 hours every day. For the rest of the time, it will be on active or passive standby.
Obviously, passive standby will cost you next to nothing. However, you have no control over that and Sky Eco mode is only between 2.30am and 5:45am. That’s 3 hours and 15 minutes each day.
| Cost per day | Cost per year | |
| Sky Q Mini | 7 pence | £24.66 |
| Sky Q 1TB | 12 pence | £46.60 |
| Sky Q 2TB | 20 pence | £71.98 |
Should you start turning off your Sky box at night?
If you have the Sky Q 2TB box, then paying £72 per year is not an amount to be ignored. So you may be tempted to turn your box off at night.
However, it’s generally recommended that you don’t do this. Not only will your box not record anything overnight, but it also will not be able to install any software updates which may cause problems for your equipment.
Final thoughts
Unfortunately, it appears that a Sky box is going to be one of the most expensive bits of kit to run in your home and there’s little you can do to reduce the cost. Yes, not turning it on will keep costs down, but then there’s little point in having it!
If the above hasn’t put you off subscribing to Sky, why not take a look at how you can reduce your monthly bill by up to 60%?