Electricity Bill Estimator
Estimate your monthly electricity bill based on appliance usage and your electricity rate.
Estimated Monthly Bill
Monthly kWh = (Watts × Hours per Day × 30) / 1000
Monthly Cost = Monthly kWh × Rate per kWh
This calculator estimates your monthly electricity bill based on total wattage, daily usage hours, and your electricity rate. A kilowatt-hour (kWh) is the standard billing unit – it means using 1,000 watts for one hour.
What the variables mean:
- Total Watts – the combined wattage of all appliances running (check labels or manuals)
- Hours per Day – the average number of hours these appliances run daily
- Rate ($/kWh) – your electricity price, found on your utility bill (US average is about $0.12-0.16/kWh)
Common appliance wattages:
| Appliance | Typical Watts | Hours/Day | Monthly Cost ($0.13/kWh) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Refrigerator | 150W | 8 | $4.68 |
| Air conditioner | 1,500W | 8 | $46.80 |
| LED bulb | 10W | 5 | $0.20 |
| Television | 100W | 4 | $1.56 |
| Washing machine | 500W | 1 | $1.95 |
| Desktop computer | 200W | 6 | $4.68 |
| Space heater | 1,500W | 4 | $23.40 |
| Microwave | 1,000W | 0.5 | $1.95 |
Practical example: If your home uses 3,000W of appliances for an average of 8 hours daily at $0.13/kWh: Monthly kWh = (3,000 × 8 × 30) / 1,000 = 720 kWh. Monthly cost = 720 × $0.13 = $93.60. Annual cost = $1,123.20.
Tips:
- Not all appliances run constantly. A fridge cycles on and off, so it may draw 150W but only runs about 8 hours total per day.
- The biggest energy consumers in most homes are heating, cooling, and water heating.
- Switching from incandescent bulbs (60W) to LED (10W) can reduce lighting costs by over 80%.
- The calculator shows daily, monthly, and annual costs for complete budgeting.