Electricity cost calculator
Find the wattage on the appliance’s label, estimate how many hours a day it runs, and enter your price per kWh from your bill.
Measuring in feet and inches? Use the US version
Cost per month
45.63 in your currency
- Per day
- 1.5
- Per year
- 547.5
- Energy per day
- 6 kWh
- Energy per year
- 2,190 kWh
How it works
Energy use is watts × hours ÷ 1,000, which gives kilowatt-hours (kWh), the unit on your bill. Multiply by your price per kWh to get the cost. A month here is an average month, a year divided by 12. The result is in whatever currency your price is in.
Example
With power 2,000 watts, hours used per day 3 hours, number of appliances 1, price per kWh 0.25, the answer is 45.63 in your currency.
Tips before you buy
- Heaters and fridges with thermostats switch on and off, so they don’t draw full power all day. Estimate the hours they actually run.
- A plug-in energy monitor shows exactly what an appliance uses.
- If your tariff has cheaper off-peak hours, use the price for the hours the appliance usually runs.
Common questions
How much does it cost to run a 2 kW heater for an hour?
2 kWh times your price per kWh: at 25p per kWh, that’s 50p an hour.
What is a kilowatt-hour?
The energy used by a 1,000 watt appliance running for one hour.
Where do I find my price per kWh?
On your energy bill, often called the unit rate.