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Common Household Appliance Energy Use

Listed below are some common appliances, their wattage and an estimate of operating costs. There is also a simple formula for calculating operating costs below.

Appliance Watts Hours/Mo kWh/Mo Avg. $/Mo
Air Conditioner (Room) 6,000 BTU
 750
 120 - 720 90 - 540
 5.99 - 35.91
Air Conditioner (Room) 9,000 BTU 1050 120 - 720 126 - 756 8.38 - 50.27
Air Conditioner (Central) 2.5 Tons
 3500 240 - 860 850 - 3000 56.53 - 199.50
Can Opener 175 1/12 - 1  .01 - .18
 .00 - .01
Ceiling Fan
 60 15 - 330 1 - 20 .07 - 1.33
Clock
 5 720 4 .27
Clothes Dryer 5000 6 - 28 30 - 140 2.00 - 9.31
Clothes Washer, Automatic (With Electric Water Heating)
 500 7 - 40 33 - 196 2.19 - 13.03
Clothes Washer, Automatic (With Non-Electric Water Heating)
 500 7 - 40 3 - 16 .20 - 1.06
Coffee Maker
 900 4 - 30 4 - 27 .27 - 1.80
Computer (Monitor & Printer)
 200 25 - 160 5 - 32 .25 - 2.18
Dehumidifier 350 120 - 720 42 - 252 2.79 - 16.76
Dishwasher (With Electric Water Heating)
 1300 8 - 40 20 - 102 1.33 - 7.68
Dishwasher (With Non-Electric Water Heating) 1300 8 - 40 3 - 16 .20 - 1.06
Drill 300 3 - 7 1 - 2 .07 - .13
Electric Blanket 180 30 - 90 5 - 16 .33 - 1.06
Electric Heater (Portable) 1200 30 - 90 30 - 90 2.00 - 5.99
Fan (Portable) 115 18 - 52 2 - 6 .13 - .40
Food Blender 390 3 - 5 1 - 2 .07 - .13
Food Freezer (15 cu. ft.) 335 180 - 420 60 - 140 3.99 - 9.31
Frying Pan 1150 10 - 20 12 - 23 .80 - 1.53
Furnace Fan Motor (Intermittent) 350 160 - 415 56 - 145 3.72 - 9.44
Furnace Fan Motor (Continuous) 350 720 252 16.76
Hair Dryer (Portable) 1000 1 - 10 1 - 10 .07 - .67
Heating Pad 65 15 - 30 1 - 2 .07 - .13
Humidifier (Portable) 100 80 - 540 8 - 54 .53 – 3.59
Iron (Hand) 1000 1 - 10 1 - 10 .07 - .67
Lighting Single Lamp (60W) 60 17 - 200 1 - 12 .07 - .80
Compact Fluorescent (60W Equiv) 18 17 - 200 .3 - 3.6 .02 - .24
Ceiling Fixture (3 bulbs) 180 6 - 195 2 - 35 .13 - 2.33
Tri-Light (Table Lamp) 100 10 - 200 1 - 20 .07 - 1.33
Chandelier (5 Lamp) 300 10 - 183 3 - 55 .20 – 3.66
Fluorescent (2 Tube 4 ft.) 100 10 - 200 1 - 20 .07 - 1.33
Microwave Oven 1300 5 - 30 5 - 30 .33 - 2.00
Power Saw 275 2 - 4 .6 - 1 .04 - .07
Range 12500 10 - 50 125 - 625 .31 – 41.56
Range (Self Cleaning Cycle Only) 3200 1/2 - 1 1/2 2 - 5 .13 - .33
Refrigerator-Freezer Frost Free (17 cu. ft.) 500 150 - 300 75 - 150 .99 – 9.98
Refrigerator (Non Frost Free - 13 cu. ft.) 300 190 - 300 56 - 90 3.72 – 5.99
Sewing Machine 75 4 - 14 .3 - 1 .02 - .07
Stereo 30 1 - 170 0.03 - 5.1 0.01 - 0.34
Television 180 60 - 440 5 - 35 .33 - 2.33
Toaster 1150 1 - 3.5 1 - 4 .07 - .27
Toothbrush 10 1 - 2 .01 - .02 .00
Vacuum Cleaner (Portable) 800 2 - 6 2 - 5 .13 - .33
Video Cassette Recorder 40 50 - 200 1 - 8 .07 - .53
Water Bed Heater 400 150 - 300 60 - 120
 3.99 – 7.98
Water Heater Typical Family of 4 3800 98 - 138 375 - 525 24.94 – 34.91

In order to calculate the average operating cost for any electrical appliance you can use the following formula:

watts/1000 = kW x hours of operation = kWh x kWh rate = cost

Watts can usually be found on the appliance nameplate. If the nameplate lists amps:volts x amps = watts

Example: How much does it cost to operate my portable electric heater? Electric heater wattage is usually given on the unit itself, or with the literature that comes with it. An example is 1000 watts. I use the heater an average of 45 hours during winter months, Klickitat County PUD’s electric rate is $.0781.

1000 watts/1000 = 1 kW x 45 hours of operation = 45 kWh x $.0781 = $3.51 Now we have an 8 amp heater. The calculation changes just a bit:

8 amps x 120 volts household current = 960 watts/1000 = .96 kW x 45 hours = 43.2 kWh x $.0781 = $3.37