Crunch Electricity Cost Calculator
Every appliance has a price per hour — it is just printed in watts instead of dollars. Pick a preset or type any wattage, add how long it runs and your electricity rate, and see what it really costs per day, month and year.
The US average residential rate is roughly $0.17/kWh; your bill’s exact figure is total cost ÷ kWh used. Fridge wattage is an average — it cycles on and off through the day.
How it works
Energy is power × time: watts ÷ 1,000 gives kilowatts, times hours gives kilowatt-hours (kWh) — the unit on your bill. Multiply kWh by your rate for cost. A month uses 30 days and a year 365, so a small daily number gets honest fast: a 1,500 W air conditioner at 6 hours a day is 9 kWh daily, and at $0.17/kWh that is $1.53 a day, $45.90 a month, and $550.80 over a year at that pace.
Formula & worked example
Formula: Kilowatt-hours per day = watts ÷ 1,000 × hours used. Cost = kWh × your rate per kWh. A month is counted as 30 days and a year as 365.
Worked example: A 1,500 W window air conditioner running 6 hours a day uses 9 kWh daily — 270 kWh a month. At $0.17 per kWh that is $1.53 a day, $45.90 a month and $550.80 over a year at the same pace.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to run an air conditioner?
A 1,500 W window unit running 6 hours a day uses 270 kWh a month — about $45.90 at $0.17/kWh, or roughly $550 a year at that pace. A 3,500 W central system at 8 hours a day is 840 kWh a month, around $142.80. Your runtime is the lever: every hour less per day saves about 11%.
How do I find my electricity rate?
Divide a recent bill’s total charges by the kWh used — that blends supply, delivery and fees into the true rate. US residential averages sit near $0.17/kWh, but the real range runs from about $0.11 to over $0.40 depending on state.
What uses the most electricity in a home?
Anything that makes heat or cold: space heating, water heating, AC, dryers and ovens draw 1,500–5,000 W. Lighting used to matter; a 10 W LED costs about $3 a year at 5 hours a day. The preset list above is roughly ranked by typical annual damage.
Is a higher-watt appliance always more expensive?
No — time is the other half. A 3,000 W dryer for 1 hour (3 kWh) costs less than a 500 W gaming PC left on 8 hours (4 kWh). That is why this calculator asks for hours, not just watts.
🎯 Found a monthly leak?
The Savings Goal Calculator turns a found $46 a month into a target date for whatever you would rather buy.