Space heater cost calculator
Most space heaters draw 1,500 watts on high and about 750 on low. Enter how long you run it and the rate from your electric bill.
Cost per month
$65.70
- Per hour
- $0.27
- Per day
- $2.16
- Energy per day
- 12 kWh
- Per winter
- $262.80 (4 months)
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How it works
A heater’s wattage is how much power it draws while it’s heating. Watts × hours ÷ 1,000 gives kilowatt-hours (kWh), the unit on your electric bill, and kWh × your rate gives the cost. A month here is an average month: a year divided by 12.
This assumes the heater runs the whole time. One with a thermostat cycles off once the room is warm, so if yours does, enter the hours it actually heats rather than the hours it’s plugged in.
Example
With heater wattage 1,500 watts, hours used per day 8 hours, number of heaters 1, electricity rate 0.18 $/kWh, months of use per winter 4 months, the answer is $65.70 .
Tips before you buy
- Space heaters save money when they let you turn the central thermostat down and heat only the room you’re in. Heating a whole house with them usually costs more than a gas furnace.
- Every electric heater turns 100% of its power into heat, so a 1,500 watt heater gives the same heat whatever its style or price. What differs is how evenly and quietly it spreads it.
- Plug space heaters straight into a wall outlet, not an extension cord or power strip, and keep them 3 feet from anything that can burn.
- Close the door to the room you’re heating and block drafts under it.
Common questions
How much does it cost to run a 1,500 watt space heater?
At $0.18 per kWh, about 27 cents an hour, $2.16 for an 8-hour day, or about $66 a month at 8 hours a day.
Does the low setting cost half as much?
Per hour, yes: 750 watts uses half the electricity of 1,500. On a cold day it may need to run longer to keep up, so the savings can be smaller.
Is it cheaper to run a space heater or central heat?
Heating one room with a space heater while the rest of the house is kept cooler can be cheaper. Heating several rooms with space heaters usually costs more than a gas furnace or heat pump.