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What things cost to run
Every common household thing, priced at 17.5¢ per kWh (the U.S. average). Change your rate and every number updates. “Per year” assumes the typical use shown.
Price anything
Find the wattage on the label or the power brick. Then say how long it runs on a typical day.
Per day
35¢
Per month
$11
Per year
$128
1 kW × 2.0 h = 2.00 kWh a day
| Thing | Draw | Per hour | Typical use | Per year | Relative yearly cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Central air conditioner One of the biggest single loads in the house on a hot day. | 3.5 kW | 61¢ | 5 h/day + 5 W idle | $1,124 | |
Heat pump (heating) Moves heat instead of making it: 2–4 units of warmth per unit of electricity. | 2.5 kW | 44¢ | 6 h/day + 10 W idle | $970 | |
Electric water heater Runs in bursts, but each burst is huge. | 4.5 kW | 79¢ | 2.5 h/day | $719 | |
EV charging (Level 2) A car is the biggest new thing you can plug into a house — and still cheaper than gas. | 7.2 kW | $1.26 | 1.4 h/day + 3 W idle | $648 | |
Space heater Every plug-in heater is 100% efficient — a “more efficient” one is a marketing story. 1,500 W is 1,500 W. | 1.5 kW | 26¢ | 4 h/day | $383 | |
Pool pump (single-speed) A variable-speed pump does the same job for a third of the energy. | 1.5 kW | 26¢ | 4 h/day | $383 | |
Window AC unit Cools one room. Much cheaper than cooling the whole house. | 900 W | 16¢ | 6 h/day + 2 W idle | $347 | |
Dehumidifier Quietly one of the bigger summer loads in a damp basement. | 500 W | 9¢ | 10 h/day + 1 W idle | $320 | |
Hot tub Heating 400 gallons outdoors, all year. | 1.5 kW | 26¢ | 3.3 h/day | $316 | |
Garage fridge (1990s) Old fridges use two to three times what a new one does. | 300 W | 5¢ | 9 h/day | $172 | |
Clothes dryer (electric) About 3 kWh a load. One of the top plug-in loads in most homes. | 3 kW | 52¢ | 48 min/day + 1 W idle | $155 | |
Desktop PC A gaming rig can double this. Sleep mode fixes most of it. | 200 W | 3¢ | 6 h/day + 3 W idle | $80 | |
Electric oven Big draw, short time. | 2.4 kW | 42¢ | 30 min/day + 2 W idle | $80 | |
Dishwasher Most of the energy is heating water and heated drying. | 1.2 kW | 21¢ | 1 h/day + 1 W idle | $78 | |
Refrigerator (modern) Cycles on and off; a new one uses about 450 kWh a year. | 150 W | 3¢ | 8 h/day | $77 | |
Stovetop burner (large) Boiling a pot of pasta costs roughly a dime. | 2 kW | 35¢ | 30 min/day | $64 | |
Electric blanket Heating a person instead of a room is remarkably cheap. | 100 W | 2¢ | 8 h/day | $51 | |
Chest freezer Efficient for what it does, but it never stops. | 100 W | 2¢ | 8 h/day | $51 | |
Box fan About a fiftieth of central air. | 75 W | 1¢ | 8 h/day | $38 | |
Cable / satellite box with DVR Draws nearly full power even when “off.” A classic phantom load. | 25 W | 0.4¢ | always on | $38 | |
Game console “Instant-on” mode can cost more than the gaming. | 150 W | 3¢ | 2 h/day + 10 W idle | $33 | |
Coffee maker (with warming plate) The brew is cheap; the hot plate left on for hours is not. | 900 W | 16¢ | 30 min/day + 1.5 W idle | $31 | |
Ceiling fan Cools people, not rooms. Turn it off when you leave. | 60 W | 1¢ | 8 h/day | $31 | |
Air fryer Heats a small box fast — usually beats the oven. | 1.5 kW | 26¢ | 18 min/day | $29 | |
Laptop About a quarter of a desktop. | 50 W | 0.9¢ | 8 h/day | $26 | |
55-inch LED TV Modern TVs are cheap to run. Modern set-top boxes are not. | 80 W | 1¢ | 4 h/day | $21 | |
Microwave Its clock runs all year; reheating dinner takes minutes. | 1.2 kW | 21¢ | 12 min/day + 2.5 W idle | $19 | |
Soundbar / AV receiver Older receivers idle at 10–30 W. Put it on the switched strip with the TV. | 30 W | 0.5¢ | 4 h/day + 8 W idle | $18 | |
Washing machine (motor) The machine itself is cheap. The hot water it asks for is not. | 500 W | 9¢ | 30 min/day + 1 W idle | $17 | |
Wi-Fi router + modem Always on, but tiny: around 90 kWh a year. | 10 W | 0.2¢ | always on | $15 | |
Incandescent bulb Ninety percent heat, ten percent light. | 60 W | 1¢ | 4 h/day | $15 | |
Hair dryer As much power as a space heater, for ten minutes. | 1.5 kW | 26¢ | 9 min/day | $14 | |
Electric kettle Boiling a liter of water: about 0.1 kWh, under two cents. | 1.5 kW | 26¢ | 6 min/day | $9.6 | |
Printer (idle) Waiting for a print job all year adds up to a few dollars. | 5 W | 0.1¢ | always on | $7.7 | |
Clothes iron Heat again — but brief. | 1.1 kW | 19¢ | 6 min/day | $7.0 | |
Toaster Loud on the meter, but only for two minutes. | 1 kW | 18¢ | 6 min/day | $6.4 | |
Vacuum cleaner Loud, powerful, brief. | 1 kW | 18¢ | 6 min/day | $6.4 | |
Smart speaker Listening all year costs a couple of dollars. | 3 W | 0.1¢ | always on | $4.6 | |
LED bulb Nine watts of light for the price of sixty. | 9 W | 0.2¢ | 4 h/day | $2.3 | |
Phone charger Charging a phone every night for a year: roughly 2 kWh. Pocket change. | 5 W | 0.1¢ | 2 h/day | $0.78 |
makes heat doesn’t. Wattages are typical mid-points from DOE and ENERGY STAR data; yours will vary. Sources.
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