Appliance Energy Cost Calculator
Calculate energy cost for individual appliances. Compare with efficient alternatives to find savings.
By Konstantin Iakovlev · Updated September 2026 · Source: EIA Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.3 — average residential price of electricity (data through June 2026)
Daily Cost
$0.17
Monthly Cost
$5.04
Annual Cost
$61.32
Energy Usage
| Wattage | 150W |
| Daily Usage | 1.20 kWh |
| Monthly Usage | 36.0 kWh |
| Annual Usage | 438 kWh |
| Daily Cost | $0.17 |
| Monthly Cost | $5.04 |
| Annual Cost | $61.32 |
Efficient Alternative: Energy Star fridge
| Current Wattage | 150W |
| Efficient Wattage | 100W |
| Current Annual Cost | $61.32 |
| Efficient Annual Cost | $40.88 |
| Annual Savings | $20.44 |
Use the Appliance Energy Cost Calculator above to calculate your results. Enter your values and see instant results — all calculations run in your browser.
Disclaimer: This calculator is for informational purposes only. Results are estimates based on the information you provide and the assumptions described on this page.
How It Works
Every appliance in your home carries a running cost that's easy to overlook until the bill arrives. Pick an appliance and enter how many hours a day it runs, and you can spot the energy hogs in your house and weigh each one against a more efficient alternative.
The arithmetic is straightforward: (Appliance Wattage / 1000) × Hours Used Per Day × Cost Per kWh gives the daily cost, which the calculator multiplies by 30 for a month and by 365 for a year. Each appliance on the list carries a fixed typical wattage (a refrigerator counts as 150 W, a clothes dryer as 5,000 W) and a fixed wattage for its efficient alternative, and the savings line runs the same hours at that lower wattage. The rate field starts at $0.14 per kilowatt-hour, below EIA's preliminary 2025 U.S. residential average of 17.30 cents, and electricity prices vary widely by state, so entering the rate from your own bill sharpens the estimate considerably.
Because the wattages are fixed presets, check your own appliance's label or measure it with a plug-in watt meter, and if it differs much from the preset, scale the result by the ratio. Standby power is the quiet culprit most people leave out, and it accumulates across a household full of devices. Older appliances also tend to run less efficiently than current models, which is often where the biggest savings hide.
Example: Refrigerator vs. Efficient Alternative
- 1 Input: Refrigerator (the 150 W preset), running 24 hours a day, at $0.173 per kWh, EIA's preliminary 2025 U.S. residential average of 17.30 cents.
- 2 Usage: 150 W / 1000 × 24 h = 3.6 kWh a day, 108 kWh a month (× 30) and 1,314 kWh a year (× 365). Cost: 3.6 × $0.173 = $0.62 a day, 108 × $0.173 = $18.68 a month and 1,314 × $0.173 = $227.32 a year.
- 3 Efficient alternative: the Energy Star fridge preset at 100 W uses 100 / 1000 × 24 × 365 = 876 kWh a year, or $151.55, a saving of $75.77 a year.
- 4 Context: a refrigerator's compressor cycles on and off, so 24 hours at full wattage overstates most models; EIA's 2020 household survey put the average cost of running a home's main refrigerator at about $87 a year. Entering fewer hours brings the figure closer to what your fridge actually uses.
Source: EIA Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.3 — average residential price of electricity (data through June 2026) · Last updated: September 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What appliances use the most electricity?
How much does it cost to run a space heater?
Does leaving appliances plugged in use electricity?
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