Electricity Cost Calculator
Electricity cost calculator: what an appliance costs to run per day, month and year from its watts and your rate per kWh.
Editorial review: Farrow (pseudonym; identity and professional credentials are not disclosed). This page is for educational purposes, not professional advice.
Your inputs
Results update as you type. Nothing you enter leaves your device.
Results
- Cost per day
- $1.05
- Cost per year
- $383
- Energy per month
- 182.5 kWh
Example with the starting values
These results use the calculator's initial inputs. Change the values above to calculate your own estimate.
Inputs
- Power
- 1500 watts
- Hours used per day
- 4
- Number of devices
- 1
- Electricity rate
- 17.5 ¢/kWh
Results
- Cost per month
- $31.94
- Cost per day
- $1.05
- Cost per year
- $383
- Energy per month
- 182.5 kWh
How does the Electricity Cost Calculator work?
Electricity cost is the amount your utility charges for the energy a device uses, measured in kilowatt-hours (kWh). One kWh is 1,000 watts used for one hour.
Energy (kWh) = watts × hours ÷ 1,000. Cost = kWh × your rate. Find the wattage on the appliance label and the rate on your utility bill (total charges ÷ kWh used).
The default rate is an estimate of the recent US average residential price. Rates vary widely by state.
For example, one 1,500-watt space heater running 4 hours a day uses 6 kWh daily. At 17.5 cents per kWh, that is about $1.05 a day or $31.94 in a 30.42-day average month.
Sources
Frequently asked questions
How much does a 1,500 W space heater cost to run?
At 17.5 cents per kWh, about 26 cents per hour, or roughly $32 a month at 4 hours a day.
Is a device on standby using power?
Yes. Standby loads of 1 to 10 W each add up across a home, often 5% to 10% of a bill.
How do I calculate kWh from watts?
Multiply watts by hours of use and divide by 1,000. A 100 W device running 10 hours uses 1 kWh.
How much does it cost to run a TV all day?
A 100 W TV on for 24 hours uses 2.4 kWh, about 42 cents a day at 17.5 cents per kWh.