Kilowatt Calculator
UCAN'S KILOWATT CALCULATOR
This table gives you a good idea of the cost per hour to run typical appliances. We have estimated the average cost of a kilowatt-hour at 17.5¢.
The estimate includes transmission costs, baseline costs, the average tiered rate, etc. Your actual electric cost may be slightly more or less.
Calculate the hourly electric cost of almost anything in two easy steps.
1. Take the wattage listed on the device and divide it by 1000 to get the number of kilowatts that is uses in one hour (one kW = 1000 watts).
2. Multiply that number by 17.5¢ to determine how many cents it costs you to run that item for one hour. Example: To calculate the hourly cost of running a 100-watt bulb for one hour, take 100 watts and divide it by 1000. Then multiply the result by the current market rate of 17.5¢ (that’s 00.175). The result is 1.75¢ per hour.
What to do if wattage isn’t listed ... If no wattage is listed on the device, take the Amps the appliance uses and multiply by the number of volts. The result is the wattage. Most small appliances use 120 volts - large appliances are usually 240.
| Lighting | kW per Hour | Cost per Hour |
| Light bulb, 100 watt incandescent |
0.10 |
1.8¢ |
| Compact fluorescent, 22 watts (a 22-watt fluorescent throws about as much light as a 100 watt incandescent) |
0.02 |
0.4¢ |
| Holiday lights, 50 bulbs, 5 watt ea. |
0.25 |
4.4¢ |
| Icicle lights, 150 bulbs, 1.9 watt ea |
0.29 |
5.1¢ |
| Large appliances |
|
|
| Clothes washer, 1/2 hp motor |
0.5 |
4.4¢ load |
| Clothes dryer, 1/2 hp motor with 5000 watt heat element |
5.4 |
94¢ load |
| Refrigerator 16 cubic feet, (30¢ per hour when running, usually about 3 to 15 hours daily). |
.70 |
12¢ |
| Dishwasher with drying cycle |
2.4 |
32¢ load |
| Dishwasher without drying cycle |
1.2 |
16¢ load |
| Freezer 12 cubic ft upright |
3 |
53¢ day |
| Microwave, 1500 watt |
1.5 |
6.6¢ (for 15 min) |
| Electric oven baking, 3000 watt |
1.00 |
18¢ |
| Home office |
|
|
| PC and monitor |
0.13 |
2.3¢ |
| Fax Machine |
0.05 |
0.9¢ |
| Photocopier (active) |
1.5 |
26¢ |
| Answering Machine |
0.03 |
0.5¢ |
| Electric cooling | kW per Hour | Cost in Cents |
| Air conditioner (whole house, cooling only, 3 ton, 10 SEER) |
5.0 |
88¢ |
| Room air conditioner, one ton |
1 |
18¢ |
| Ceiling Fan, 80 watt motor no light |
0.08 |
1.4¢ |
| Evaporative Cooler |
0.5 |
8.8¢ |
| Whole House Fan |
0.75 |
13¢ |
| Water heating (electric) |
|
|
| Shower, (cost shown is for 7 min shower - cost per hour is $3.52) |
2.5 |
44¢ |
| Electric heating |
|
|
| Portable heater, 1500 watt |
1.5 |
26¢ |
| Wall heater, 4500 watt |
4.50 |
79¢ |
| Central forced-air, 5000 watt |
5.00 |
88¢ |
| Ceiling cable heater, 3000 watt |
3.00 |
53¢ |
| Heat pump, 4 ton |
5.0 |
88¢ |
| Small appliances |
|
|
| VCR, 20 watt |
0.02 |
0.4¢ |
| 20" Color television |
0.11 |
1.9¢ |
| 12" Black & white TV |
0.02 |
4/10¢ |
| Waterbed heater, 400 watt, 90o |
0.40 |
7¢ |
| Electric blanket, 100 watt heater |
0.1 |
1.8¢ |
| Coffee maker |
0.9 |
15.8¢ |
| Stereo, 50 Watts |
0.05 |
8.8¢ |
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power consumption
Thanks for the great, albeit condensed version of approx. power usage on various household items, providing much in the way of peace of mind.
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