--- title: "Electricity Cost Calculator | Method Calculator" description: "Work out what an appliance costs to run per day, month and year from its wattage, hours of use and your electricity price per kWh." canonical_url: "https://methodcalculator.com/electricity-cost-calculator" meta: "og:description": "Work out what an appliance costs to run per day, month and year from its wattage, hours of use and your electricity price per kWh." "og:image": "https://methodcalculator.com/_og/s/o_0b1d7d20c296e128.png" "og:image:height": "600" "og:image:type": image/png "og:image:width": "1200" "og:title": "Electricity Cost Calculator – Free Online Tool" "twitter:image": "https://methodcalculator.com/_og/s/o_0b1d7d20c296e128.png" --- > Index of every page on this site: [llms.txt](https://methodcalculator.com/llms.txt) # **Electricity Cost Calculator** Pick an appliance or enter its wattage, how many hours a day it runs and what you pay per kilowatt-hour to see what it costs per day, month and year, along with the energy it uses in kWh. ## **Result** Cost per month **$2.55**
Cost per day
$0.09
Cost per year (365 days)
**$31.03**
Energy per day
0.5 kWh
Energy per month
15 kWh
Energy per year
182.5 kWh
**Typical appliances at $0.17 per kWh** | **Appliance** | **Power** | **Hours / day** | **kWh / month** | **Cost / month** | **Cost / year** | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | LED light bulb | 10 W | 5 | 1.5 | $0.26 | $3.10 | | Laptop | 50 W | 8 | 12 | $2.04 | $24.82 | | TV (LED, 55 in) | 100 W | 4 | 12 | $2.04 | $24.82 | | Desktop PC | 200 W | 6 | 36 | $6.12 | $74.46 | | Refrigerator | 150 W | 8 | 36 | $6.12 | $74.46 | | Washing machine | 500 W | 1 | 15 | $2.55 | $31.03 | | Microwave | 1,000 W | 0.5 | 15 | $2.55 | $31.03 | | Space heater | 1,500 W | 4 | 180 | $30.60 | $372.30 | | Central air conditioner | 3,500 W | 8 | 840 | $142.80 | $1,737.40 | | EV charger (Level 2) | 7,200 W | 3 | 648 | $110.16 | $1,340.28 | ## What this electricity cost calculator does Your electricity bill is the sum of every device in the house multiplied by how long it runs and the price your utility charges per kilowatt-hour. This calculator isolates one appliance so you can see what it really costs: whether the space heater in the spare room is worth it, how much a gaming PC adds to the bill, or what charging an electric car at home costs compared with petrol. Enter a wattage and a daily running time, or pick a preset for a typical appliance, and the cost per day, month and year appears instantly. ## Watts, kilowatt-hours and the cost formula Watts (W) measure power, the rate at which a device draws energy. Kilowatt-hours (kWh) measure energy, the amount used over time, and that is what you pay for. The two are linked by running time: **Energy (kWh) = watts × hours ÷ 1,000** **Cost = kWh × price per kWh** **Example:** a 100 W device running 5 hours a day uses 100 × 5 ÷ 1,000 = **0.5 kWh per day**. Over a 30-day month that is 0.5 × 30 = 15 kWh, and at $0.17 per kWh it costs 15 × 0.17 = **$2.55 per month**. Over a year (365 days) it uses 182.5 kWh and costs 182.5 × 0.17 = **$31.03**. A 1,500 W space heater on for the same 5 hours a day would cost fifteen times as much, about $38 a month. ## How to find an appliance's wattage - **The rating label:** most appliances carry a plate or sticker near the power cord listing watts, or amps and volts. Multiply amps by volts to get watts (5 A × 120 V = 600 W). - **The manual or product page:** look for "rated power" or "power consumption". For TVs and fridges the EnergyGuide or EU energy label gives annual kWh directly, which you can divide by 365 to get daily use. - **A plug-in energy monitor or smart plug:** the only reliable way to measure devices that cycle on and off, such as refrigerators, air conditioners and heat pumps. Leave it connected for a full day or week and read the kWh total. - **Standby power:** devices that are "off" but still plugged in often draw 0.5 to 10 W around the clock. Enter 24 hours a day to see what that costs. Remember that the label shows the *maximum* draw. A 1,000 W microwave only draws that while heating, a washing machine uses most of its energy during the heating and spin phases, and a laptop charger rated 65 W averages far less once the battery is full. ## How to use this calculator 1. Choose an appliance from the list to load a typical wattage and daily running time, or leave it on "Custom". 2. Enter the power in watts, or switch to kilowatts for large loads such as an EV charger, water heater or central air. 3. Set the hours of use per day and the days per month. For something that runs continuously, enter 24 hours. 4. Type the price per kWh from your electricity bill. Include delivery and supply charges for an all-in figure. 5. Read the monthly cost in the result panel, then compare it with the other appliances in the table below. ## Tips to cut the bill - **Heat is expensive.** Anything that makes heat, such as space heaters, dryers, ovens and water heaters, uses 1 to 5 kW. Reducing their running time saves more than switching off every light in the house. - **Swap to LED.** A 10 W LED gives the light of a 60 W incandescent bulb, cutting its running cost by over 80%. - **Use a heat pump instead of resistance heating.** A heat pump delivers 3 to 4 units of heat per unit of electricity, so the same warmth costs a quarter to a third as much. - **Kill standby power.** Smart power strips or simply unplugging rarely-used electronics removes phantom loads that can make up 5 to 10% of household use. - **Shift use to off-peak hours** if you are on a time-of-use tariff. Running the dishwasher, washing machine or EV charger overnight can halve what those loads cost. ## Limitations The calculator assumes one flat price per kWh. Many utilities bill in tiers, where the price rises once you pass a monthly threshold, or by time of use, with peak afternoon rates several times the overnight rate. In those cases, enter the rate that applies when the appliance actually runs, or your average all-in price (total bill divided by total kWh) for an overall estimate. Fixed monthly service charges are not included. For the cost of driving, see the [fuel cost calculator](https://methodcalculator.com/fuel-cost-calculator), and use the [unit converter](https://methodcalculator.com/unit-converter) for other energy and power units. ## **Frequently asked questions ** ### **What is a kilowatt-hour?** A kilowatt-hour (kWh) is the energy used by a 1,000-watt load running for one hour. It is the unit your utility bills you for. A 100 W bulb takes 10 hours to use 1 kWh, while a 2,000 W kettle uses it in 30 minutes. Watts measure how fast energy is being used; kilowatt-hours measure how much has been used. ### **How much does electricity cost per kWh?** In the United States the average residential price in 2025 is around 17 cents per kWh, but it ranges from about 11 cents in some southern and mountain states to over 30 cents in California, Hawaii and much of New England. In the UK and most of Europe, prices of 25 to 40 cents (or equivalent) per kWh are common. Your own rate is printed on your bill; use the all-in price including delivery charges for a realistic estimate. ### **Why does my refrigerator use less than its label says?** Appliances with compressors or heating elements cycle on and off, so a fridge rated at 150 W might only run its compressor a third of the time. The preset here assumes about 8 hours of compressor time per day, which is typical for a modern fridge. For an accurate figure, plug it into an energy monitor for 24 hours. ### **Does leaving things plugged in cost money?** Yes, though usually only a little per device. TVs, game consoles, chargers and anything with a remote or a clock draw standby power, typically 0.5 to 10 watts each. Ten devices averaging 3 W add up to about 22 kWh a month, or roughly $3.70 at 17 cents per kWh, which a smart power strip can eliminate. ### **How do I convert amps to watts?** Multiply amps by volts. A device rated 5 A on a 120 V US circuit draws up to 600 W; on a 230 V European circuit the same 5 A would be 1,150 W. Labels usually give the maximum draw, so the real average consumption is often lower. ## **Related calculators ** - [**Fuel Cost Calculator**](https://methodcalculator.com/fuel-cost-calculator) - [**Unit Converter**](https://methodcalculator.com/unit-converter) - [**Percentage Calculator**](https://methodcalculator.com/percentage-calculator) - [**Concrete Calculator**](https://methodcalculator.com/concrete-calculator) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@id":"https://methodcalculator.com/#website","@type":"WebSite","description":"Free online calculators for finance, health and fitness, math and everyday life. 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