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What a device costs to run

Appliance Electricity Cost Calculator

Estimate what a device costs to run from its wattage, hours of use, and the EIA average for your state. You can type the rate from your bill instead.

Your numbers

Appliance electricity cost

Wattage, how often you run it, and a state electricity average. Example wattages are starting points you can change.
EIA MONTHLY DATA

Texas: 15.94¢/kWhEIA · June 2026

Example wattage: 1,500 W. You can change this value.

WFrom a label, spec sheet, or the example above
hours
days
%Fridges, freezers, and air conditioners cycle on and off. 100% means it draws full power the whole time.
Your own electricity rate

The state average is used unless you enter the rate from your own bill.

¢ / kWhLeave blank to use the state average

Estimated monthly electricity cost

$34.81218.4 kWh at 15.94¢/kWh
kWh per day7.18 kWhAnnual use ÷ 365
kWh per month218.4 kWhAnnual use ÷ 12
kWh per year2,620.8 kWh52 weeks of this pattern
Daily cost$1.14Annual cost ÷ 365
Yearly cost$417.76Same usage × 52 weeks
Rate sourceEIA averageEIA · June 2026

Electricity: EIA Texas residential average for June 2026.

How we got this
  1. PowerNameplate or example wattage you entered1,500 W
  2. UsageA year is 52 weeks of this pattern8 h/day · 7 days/week
  3. Energy consumed7.2 kWh on a day you run it · 218.4 kWh/month2,620.8 kWh/year
  4. Electricity ratePublished state residential average15.94¢ per kWh
  5. Monthly costAnnual energy cost ÷ 12$34.81
  6. Annual costkWh × cents per kWh ÷ 100$417.76
What we assumed
  • At this usage level, this device accounts for approximately 2,621 kWh/year.
  • A year is 52 weeks of this usage pattern. Monthly figures are that annual total divided by 12. Daily figures are the annual total divided by 365.
  • Wattage is the number you entered or an example starting point, not a measured lab rating for a specific model.
  • Only 60% of those hours are counted as drawing power, because thermostat-controlled appliances cycle rather than running continuously. Change it if you know your own duty cycle.
  • This multiplies energy by a price. It is not a copy of your utility bill.
  • Fixed charges, demand charges, tiers, taxes, credits, and time of use rates are left out.
Technical details

Method appliance-energy-v1.0.0Data eia-electricity-residential-2026-06-v1

Guide

What a device costs to run

CostAnswer editorialIndependent calculator publisher

Wattage × hours of use becomes kWh, then kWh × a rate. The rate is the EIA state average unless you type your own. Duty cycle and phantom load are only as good as the hours you enter.

Nameplate watts are not always running watts

A refrigerator’s compressor cycles. A dryer listing 5,600 watts does not run that hard for a full hour of “cycle time” in every home. Use measured watts if you have a meter; otherwise treat the result as an upper-ish planning number.

Questions about this calculator

How much does a dryer cost per load?

Type the dryer’s watts, hours per load, loads per week, and a rate. The page annualizes from that pattern. It will not read a model number.

Terms used here

Watt
Power. 1,000 watts for one hour is 1 kWh.
Duty cycle
The fraction of time a compressor or heater is actually drawing nameplate power.

Practical tips

  • For always-on devices, hours per day are 24 and the interesting input is watts.
  • Compare two states only if you keep watts and hours identical.

Limits and caveats

  • Formula estimate from the watts and hours you typed, priced at an average or your override.

Results are for information. They are not legal, tax, medical, or financial advice. How the math is maintained · Report a wrong figure.

Engine notes

Rounding, versioning, and omissions that sit beside the guide rather than repeating it.

  • Turn watts into kWh. Watts ÷ 1,000 × hours is energy for the hours you run the device that day.
  • A week, then a year. Days per week sets weekly kWh. A year is 52 of those weeks. Monthly figures are that annual total divided by 12. Daily figures are the annual total divided by 365.
  • Price from EIA or your bill. The default rate is the EIA residential state average for June 2026. A rate you type replaces it and is labeled as a manual electricity rate.

Calculation receipt

What each number here is

The arithmetic is decided by your inputs. Official data only supplies a starting value, and anything you type replaces it.

OBSERVEDEIA retail electricity
Only a starting value. A figure from your own bill or quote replaces it and is used instead.
USER ENTEREDA figure you enter
A figure you typed. It replaces our default and is used exactly as given.

Sources

Where this data comes from

U.S. Energy Information AdministrationSource: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Form EIA-861M monthly estimates. Snapshot eia-electricity-residential-2026-06-v1.EIA · June 2026 ↗EIA retail price explanationWhy published average retail prices are not the rate on your bill.Method note ↗

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