Electricity Cost Calculator

Your electricity rate (cost per kilowatt-hour) is on your utility bill — look for a line item like 'Energy charge' or 'Rate per kWh'. In the US, the national average is around $0.12–$0.17/kWh, but it varies widely by state and provider. Some utilities show a flat rate; others show tiered rates that increase as you use more — use the average or the tier you fall into most months.

A kilowatt-hour is a unit of energy: one kilowatt of power sustained for one hour. A 1,000W appliance running for one hour uses exactly 1 kWh. A 100W bulb running for 10 hours also uses 1 kWh. Your electricity bill charges you per kWh consumed.

Check the label on the appliance, the owner's manual, or the manufacturer's website. Wattage is usually printed on a sticker on the bottom or back. For devices with variable consumption (like a laptop or an inverter AC), use the rated wattage or an average from a smart plug with energy monitoring.

No — this calculator uses a fixed wattage and hours-per-day. For devices that have significant standby draw (TVs, game consoles, microwaves with digital clocks), add the standby wattage multiplied by the remaining hours as a separate calculation, or measure with a smart plug.

The biggest wins come from the biggest consumers: heating and cooling (switch to efficient heat pumps, improve insulation), water heating, and old refrigerators or freezers. LED lighting already draws so little that replacing bulbs has a much smaller payoff than it did a decade ago. Use this calculator to rank your appliances by cost — then target the highest ones first.

The math is exact for the inputs you provide. Real-world usage will differ because appliances don't run at a fixed wattage (motors cycle on and off, dimmers reduce draw, etc.) and your actual rate may include delivery charges, taxes, or tiered pricing on top of the base rate. Treat the result as a close estimate.