When I first started looking at the xTool S1 for our workshop, I made the same mistake most people do. I saw the power supply rating—90W for the S1 with a 20W module, I think it was—and assumed that meant it was constantly pulling 90 watts from the wall. I calculated the hourly cost, multiplied by anticipated runtime, and felt pretty good about the operating expense.
A year and about 300 orders later, having tracked every energy cost across our shop equipment in a spreadsheet (yes, I’m that person), I can tell you: my initial assumptions were wrong. Not wildly wrong, but off by enough that it would have skewed my budget projections by a few hundred bucks annually.
And that’s the thing about laser engraver power consumption—it’s one of those costs that seems simple until you actually dig into the data.
The Real Power Draw: Not What You Think
Let’s be clear about something upfront: the xTool S1’s maximum rated power draw is around 110 watts for the standard configuration. That’s the number on the spec sheet. But the real-world draw depends on what you’re doing.
I spent a Saturday afternoon with a Kill A Watt meter plugged into our S1. Here’s what I found across different jobs (this was back in October 2024, for context):
- Idle/standby: About 12 watts. Not nothing, but negligible over a month.
- Low-power engraving (wood, leather, paper): 45–65 watts. The 20W laser module rarely runs at full power for these materials.
- Cutting 3mm acrylic: 75–95 watts, depending on speed and pass count.
- Cutting 6mm wood (bass ply): 85–105 watts. Multiple passes = sustained draw.
- 40W module, full-power engraving on coated metal: Peaked at 135 watts. The auxiliary fan ramps up, which adds draw.
That 135-watt peak is notable. The 40W module pulls more than the 20W module, obviously, but the auxiliary exhaust fan usage also increases. Something I didn’t account for in my first calculation.
Reference: Actual measured consumption on our unit (serial #XT2409xxx), verified with a P3 P4400 Kill A Watt meter. Readings averaged over 10-minute job cycles.
Breaking Down the Energy Costs
So what does this mean in actual dollars? I’m in the US, running our shop in Ohio where the commercial electricity rate was about $0.12/kWh as of Q4 2024. For a typical small business running an S1 4 hours per day, 5 days a week:
- 4 hours × 90W average draw (let’s call it 0.09 kW) = 0.36 kWh per day
- 0.36 kWh × $0.12 = $0.043 per day
- 22 operating days per month ≈ $0.95 per month
- Annual energy cost: Approximately $11.40
That’s for a 20W module doing mixed engraving and cutting. If you’re running the 40W module in heavy production mode (6 hours/day, full power), you’re looking at about $0.10/day more—so maybe $26/year.
Compare that to the consumables cost (which is where the real money goes—air assist filter replacements, lens cleaning kits, material waste). The electricity is almost a rounding error in the total cost of ownership. But the misunderstanding about power consumption can lead to bad decisions.
I oversaw a procurement audit for a friend’s shop (6-person operation, about $12K annual equipment budget). They’d avoided getting a laser engraver for two years because they thought the power draw would spike their utility bills. When I showed them the actual numbers from our S1, they ordered one the next week.
That was in early 2023. Their energy bill went up by $14.50 that year. Their material cost savings from reducing waste? Over $600.
Can the Xtool S1 Cut Metal? The Honest Answer
This is where you need to manage expectations carefully. The xTool S1 can mark metal. Coated metal (like anodized aluminum) engraves beautifully—I’ve done serial number plates and small nameplates for our equipment. But cutting through structural metal? Not with the 20W or 40W diode laser modules.
Here’s the breakdown from what I’ve actually tested:
- Anodized aluminum: Yes, engraves well. The anodized layer burns off cleanly at moderate power.
- Stainless steel (with marking spray): Yes, you can get a dark etch using a marking compound like Enduramark or CerMark. The laser bonds the compound to the metal.
