People type this into search every day: appliance electricity cost calculator.
The usual answer is “check the wattage on the label.” Wattage is the power. The bill charges energy, which is power over time, times the price of a kilowatt-hour.
This page is a labeled example. It is not your utility tariff, and it is not a lab measurement of a specific fridge or dryer.
Watts become kilowatt-hours, then dollars
Virginia Cooperative Extension’s appliance energy-use note reprints the Energy Saver method:
(wattage × hours used per day) ÷ 1000 = daily kWh
Then multiply by the days you run it and by the rate on the bill. One kilowatt is 1,000 watts. The same note says a fridge that is “on” all day still cycles, so you should not treat nameplate watts as a 24-hour draw.
The appliance electricity cost calculator uses that formula for a month:
watts ÷ 1000 × hours × days × electricity rate
Assumptions on the tool: the appliance draws the stated power the whole time it is on. Taxes and time-of-use prices belong in the rate you type, or in a separate peak and off-peak pass.
Fig 1
Label watts to a monthly cost
Divide watts by 1,000, then multiply by hours, days, and the kWh price
1,200 W for 2 hours on 20 days at $0.32 / kWh is 48 kWh and $15.36.
The EIA Electricity Monthly Update puts US residential average revenue at 18.31 cents / kWh in July 2026. That is a national average of utility revenue per kilowatt-hour, not the line on your bill. The calculator default is $0.32 / kWh, a high-rate planning number. Type the supply-plus-delivery figure from the last statement.
The published 1,200-watt example
Here are the calculator defaults:
- appliance power: 1,200 W
- hours used per day: 2
- days used per month: 20
- electricity price: $0.32 / kWh
Monthly energy: 1200 ÷ 1000 × 2 × 20 = 48.0 kWh
Monthly cost: 48 × 0.32 = $15.36
Per use-day: 15.36 ÷ 20 = $0.77
Per year: 15.36 × 12 = $184.32
Calculator result
Appliance electricity cost
- Appliance power
- 1200 W
- Hours used per day
- 2 hrs
- Days used per month
- 20 days
- Electricity price
- $0.32
$15.36
per month
- Energy / month
- 48 kWh
- Per use-day
- $0.77
- Per year
- $184.32
At the July 2026 EIA residential average of $0.1831 / kWh, the same 48 kWh is 48 × 0.1831 = $8.79 a month and $105.47 a year. The hours and the watts did not change. The rate did.
Fig 2 · 1/2
Same 48 kWh, two rates
1,200 W, 2 hours, 20 days
Monthly running cost
$0.32 / kWh
$15.36
18.31¢ / kWh
$8.79
The $0.32 default is $15.36 a month.
At 18.31 cents the same 48 kWh is $8.79.
Hours are the input you control
Hold 1,200 W, 20 days, and $0.32. Change only the hours.
- 1 hour: 24 kWh. Month $7.68. Use-day $0.38. Year $92.16.
- 2 hours (default): 48 kWh. Month $15.36. Year $184.32.
- 3 hours: 72 kWh. Month $23.04. Use-day $1.15. Year $276.48.
- 4 hours: 96 kWh. Month $30.72. Use-day $1.54. Year $368.64.
Each extra hour on this default is 1.2 × 20 × 0.32 = $7.68 a month, or $92.16 a year.
Fig 3 · 1/4
Four daily runtimes
1,200 W, 20 days, $0.32 / kWh
- Annual cost
| Category | Annual cost |
|---|---|
| 1 h | $92 |
| 2 h | $184 |
| 3 h | $276 |
| 4 h | $369 |
One hour is $92.16 a year.
Four hours is $368.64. Each extra hour adds $92.16.
Fig 4 · 1/2
Twelve months of the 2-hour default
48 kWh a month at $0.32, no seasonal change
Cash spent
- 2 hours / day
- 4 hours / day
| Point | 2 hours / day | 4 hours / day |
|---|---|---|
| 0 mo | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| 3 mo | $46 | $92 |
| 6 mo | $92 | $184 |
| 9 mo | $138 | $276 |
| 12 mo | $184 | $369 |
Month 3 is $46.08.
Month 12 is $184.32.
The editorial walkthrough on this tool is a portable heater: 1,500 W, 3 hours, 20 days, $0.30 / kWh.
Monthly energy: 1.5 × 3 × 20 = 90.0 kWh
Monthly cost: 90 × 0.30 = $27.00
Per use-day: $1.35
Per year: $324.00
Calculator result
Appliance electricity cost
- Appliance power
- 1500 W
- Hours used per day
- 3 hrs
- Days used per month
- 20 days
- Electricity price
- $0.30
$27.00
per month
- Energy / month
- 90 kWh
- Per use-day
- $1.35
- Per year
- $324.00
A harder heater day, still a labeled example: 1,500 W for 8 hours, 30 days, at the $0.32 default.
Monthly energy: 1.5 × 8 × 30 = 360.0 kWh
Monthly cost: $115.20
Per use-day: $3.84
Per year: $1,382.40
A 60 W lamp, 5 hours a day, 30 days, $0.32: 0.06 × 5 × 30 = 9.0 kWh, $2.88 a month, $34.56 a year. The heater at 8 hours is 115.20 ÷ 2.88 = 40 times that lamp on this path.
Standby is a small draw that never clocks out
The standby power cost calculator prices the watts that stay on when you are not using the thing.
watts ÷ 1000 × standby hours × 365 × electricity rate
Defaults:
- total standby power: 18 W
- standby hours per day: 20
- electricity price: $0.32 / kWh
- devices included: 6
Energy per year: 0.018 × 20 × 365 = 131.4 kWh
Yearly cost: 131.4 × 0.32 = $42.05
Per device: 42.05 ÷ 6 = $7.01
Per month: $3.50
Calculator result
Standby power cost
- Total standby power
- 18 W
- Standby hours per day
- 20 hrs
- Electricity price
- $0.32
- Devices included
- 6 devices
$42.05
per year
- Energy / year
- 131.4 kWh
- Per device
- $7.01
- Per month
- $3.50
Twenty hours leaves 4 hours of real use. If those six boxes sit at 18 W for 24 hours: 0.018 × 24 × 365 = 157.7 kWh, $50.46 a year.
One 5 W brick, 20 hours a day, $0.32: 0.005 × 20 × 365 = 36.5 kWh, $11.68 a year.
Fig 5 · 1/3
A year of draw
Same $0.32 / kWh
Annual electricity cost
18 W standby
$42.05
1,200 W default
$184.32
1,500 W, 8 h
$1,382.40
The 1,200 W default habit is $184.32 a year.
The 18 W standby pile is $42.05. The 8-hour heater example is $1,382.40.
Standby looks cheap next to $1,382.40. It is still 42.05 ÷ 184.32 = 22.8% of the 2-hour default appliance, and it runs on days you did not “use” anything.
The bill adds a fixed charge and tax
The appliance card is usage only. The electricity bill estimate calculator adds the pieces that show up on a statement.
(usage × rate + fixed charge) × (1 + tax)
Defaults:
- monthly electricity use: 650 kWh
- price per kWh: $0.22
- fixed monthly charge: $18
- tax and surcharge: 5%
Usage charge: 650 × 0.22 = $143.00
Subtotal: 143 + 18 = $161.00
Tax: 161 × 0.05 = $8.05
Monthly bill: $169.05
Annual equivalent: $2,028.60
Fig 6 · 1/3
One $169.05 bill
Defaults: 650 kWh at $0.22, $18 fixed, 5% tax
- Usage
- Fixed
- Tax
| Category | Usage | Fixed | Tax |
|---|---|---|---|
| This bill | $143 | $18 | $8.05 |
Usage is $143.00 before the fixed charge.
The $18 fixed line and $8.05 tax finish the $169.05.
Add the default appliance’s 48 kWh to that 650 kWh, and keep the bill’s $0.22 rate.
New usage: 698 kWh
Usage charge: 698 × 0.22 = $153.56
Bill: $180.14
The extra 48 kWh added 180.14 − 169.05 = $11.09, not the appliance card’s $15.36. The card used $0.32 and skipped the 5% tax. On the bill path the extra kWh cost 48 × 0.22 × 1.05 = $11.09.
Line the rates up at $0.32 and keep the $18 and 5%.
650 kWh bill: $237.30
698 kWh bill: 698 × 0.32 + 18 = 241.36, then × 1.05 = $253.43
Gap: 253.43 − 237.30 = $16.13
That $16.13 is 15.36 × 1.05. The fixed $18 cancelled out. Tax did not.
The bill tool assumes one usage rate. Credits and tiers are excluded. If your tariff has a peak price, split the hours and add the two costs, which is what the editorial guide on the appliance tool already says.
Open the appliance electricity cost calculator with the nameplate watts, the hours it actually runs, and the kWh price from the bill. If the device sits warm all day, use the standby power cost calculator for the idle watts. To see the same kWh land on a statement, add them to the electricity bill estimate calculator.