See exactly what each appliance adds to your electric bill. List what you run — pick from presets like air conditioners, space heaters, refrigerators, dryers and EV chargers, or type the watts from a label — set the hours of use and your price per kWh, and get the cost per day, month and year with the biggest energy users ranked.
ApplianceWattsHours/dayDays/mo
Monthly cost
$69.87
411 kWh
Per year
$838
4932 kWh
Per day
$2.33
13.7 kWh
Rate
17.0¢
per kWh
Appliance
kWh / month
Cost / month
Share
Window air conditioner
288.0
$48.96
70 %
Refrigerator
108.0
$18.36
26 %
TV (55-inch LED)
15.0
$2.55
4 %
📌 kWh = watts × hours ÷ 1,000. Use the wattage on the appliance label or a plug-in meter; devices with compressors and thermostats (fridges, AC, heaters) cycle on and off, so their average draw is well below the label — the presets already account for that. US average residential rate ≈ 17¢/kWh (2025); check your bill for the all-in rate including delivery charges.
Share:
Residential electricity rates by state (2025, approx.)
State
¢ per kWh
900 kWh/month costs
Hawaii
42¢
$378
California
31¢
$279
Connecticut
30¢
$270
Massachusetts
30¢
$270
Rhode Island
28¢
$252
New Hampshire
26¢
$234
New York
24¢
$216
Maine
24¢
$216
Alaska
24¢
$216
New Jersey
21¢
$189
Michigan
19¢
$171
Pennsylvania
18¢
$162
US average
17¢
$153
Illinois
16¢
$144
Ohio
16¢
$144
Texas
15¢
$135
Florida
15¢
$135
Arizona
15¢
$135
Colorado
15¢
$135
Georgia
14¢
$126
Tennessee
13¢
$117
Louisiana
12¢
$108
Washington
12¢
$108
Utah
12¢
$108
Idaho
12¢
$108
North Dakota
11¢
$99
Rounded EIA residential averages; your utility’s all-in rate (energy + delivery + taxes) is on your bill and may differ by several cents.
Worked example and where the money goes
Refrigerator 150 W × 24 h × 30 days = 108 kWh ($18.36 at 17¢); window AC 1,200 W × 8 h × 30 = 288 kWh ($48.96); TV 100 W × 5 h × 30 = 15 kWh ($2.55). Together 411 kWh and about $70 a month — with the air conditioner responsible for 70 % of it. Cutting the AC to 6 hours or raising the thermostat a few degrees saves more than unplugging every gadget in the house.
Watts × hours of use ÷ 1,000 = kilowatt-hours; kWh × your rate = cost. A 1,200 W window air conditioner running 8 hours a day uses 9.6 kWh, which at 17¢ is $1.63 a day, about $49 a month. Find the wattage on the label or nameplate; if it only lists amps, multiply by 120 V (or 240 V for large appliances).
About 17¢ per kWh for residential customers in 2025 (EIA), but it ranges from around 11–12¢ in Idaho, Utah, North Dakota and Washington to 30¢+ in California, Connecticut and Massachusetts and over 40¢ in Hawaii. Use the all-in figure from your bill — total charges divided by kWh used — since delivery fees and taxes are often as large as the energy charge itself.
Heating and cooling first: central AC, electric furnaces, heat pumps and space heaters can be half the bill in season. Then water heating (about 12 %), the clothes dryer, refrigerator and freezer, cooking, lighting and electronics. Always-on standby loads — routers, TVs, chargers, cable boxes — add 5–10 % and are the easiest savings.
Because its compressor cycles: it runs perhaps a third of the time, so a fridge labeled 400 W averages 100–150 W across the day (35–55 kWh a month). The same applies to air conditioners, heaters, freezers and water heaters, whose thermostats switch them off once the target is reached. The presets use realistic average draws; a plug-in meter over 24 hours gives the exact figure.
About 900 kWh a month (10,500–10,800 kWh a year), which at 17¢ is roughly $150 a month. Homes with electric heat, a pool or an EV run 1,500–2,500 kWh in peak months; a small apartment with gas heat may use 300–500.