At the US average residential rate of 18.31¢ per kWh (EIA, July 2026), a modern full-size refrigerator costs about $7 a month, an electric dryer about $9, a dishwasher under $4 and a clothes washer under $2. The big one is the water heater: a standard electric tank costs roughly $53 a month on our estimate, against about $14 for a heat pump model. Those figures come from ENERGY STAR’s certified-product lists, not from guesses, and the rest of this guide shows the arithmetic so you can reprice everything at your own rate. For the full picture of your bill, start with our guide on why electric bills are so high.
The Formula
Monthly cost = watts ÷ 1,000 × hours used × days × your rate per kWh. An appliance that draws 1,000 W for one hour uses 1 kWh, which costs 18.31¢. The catch is that a label wattage is a peak, and most appliances cycle. That is why we use annual kWh ratings from ENERGY STAR where they exist, and label our own time assumptions where they do not.
Appliances With a Published Annual Rating
We pulled the ENERGY STAR certified-product lists (data.energystar.gov, retrieved October 2026) and took the median model in each category. Cost is our arithmetic at 18.31¢.
| Appliance | Annual kWh (ENERGY STAR median) | Per month | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full-size refrigerator-freezer | 457 | $6.97 | $83.68 |
| Upright freezer | 438 | $6.68 | $80.20 |
| Compact refrigerator | 246 | $3.75 | $45.04 |
| Dishwasher, standard size | 240 | $3.66 | $43.94 |
| Clothes washer | 110 | $1.68 | $20.14 |
| Electric dryer, vented | 608 | $9.28 | $111.32 |
| TV, 50 to 65 inches | 200 | $3.05 | $36.62 |
| Portable dehumidifier, 35 to 50 pints a day | 514 (seasonal) | $13.43 in season | $94.02 |
| Heat pump water heater, medium use | 902 | $13.76 | $165.15 |
Three notes. The TV figure is ENERGY STAR’s reported annual use, and our check of one listing (31.52 W × 5 hours × 365 days) suggests it assumes about 5 hours a day on-mode. The dehumidifier figure rests on DOE’s test assumption of 1,095 operating hours a season (April to October), so we spread it over seven months. And the dishwasher number excludes the energy to heat its water. We go deeper on three of these in our guides to refrigerator running cost, electric versus gas dryers and dehumidifier running cost.
The Water Heater Is the Outlier
The EIA puts water heating at 12% of residential site electricity (2020), tied with space heating. A standard electric resistance tank converts nearly all of its electricity to heat, so it uses roughly three to four times what a heat pump water heater does for the same hot water. ENERGY STAR’s list gives a median of 902 kWh a year for medium-usage heat pump models, with a median uniform energy factor (UEF) of 3.5. Our estimate for an electric resistance tank delivering the same hot water, assuming a UEF of 0.92, is about 3,500 kWh a year, or $641 a year, about $53 a month. That is an assumption on our part, not a measured figure for your tank. The comparison is why we cover it in our water heater replacement guide.
Appliances Priced by Watts and Hours
For devices without a standard annual rating, we multiply a published wattage by a stated amount of use. The wattages for the microwave, fan and laptop are from a Virginia Tech Cooperative Extension wattage table (publication 2901-9014); the oven wattage is from Frigidaire’s published range specifications, which list bake elements of 2,600 to 3,400 W. The hours are our assumptions.
| Appliance | Wattage | Assumed use | kWh a month | Per month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Microwave | 750 to 1,100 W | 15 min a day | 5.6 to 8.3 | $1.03 to $1.51 |
| Electric oven, bake | 2,600 to 3,400 W | 1 hour a day at full power (upper bound) | 78 to 102 | $14.28 to $18.68 |
| Ceiling fan | 65 to 175 W | 8 hours a day | 15.6 to 42 | $2.86 to $7.69 |
| Laptop | 50 W | 8 hours a day | 12 | $2.20 |
| Window AC, 12,000 Btu/h ENERGY STAR | about 816 W | 240 hours (upper bound) | 196 | about $36 |
| Space heater | 1,500 W | 8 hours a day | 360 | $65.92 |
An oven’s element cycles to hold temperature, so the oven row overstates a normal hour of baking. The last two rows are the expensive ones, and they are heating and cooling, not kitchen gear. See AC cost per hour and the space heater guide for the full math, and the gaming PC guide if a desktop runs all day.
What Four Everyday Appliances Add Up To
Add the refrigerator, dishwasher, washer and dryer medians from the first table and you get 1,415 kWh a year. The EIA reports an average US household buys about 10,791 kWh a year (2022 data), so those four are about 13% of a typical home’s electricity (our arithmetic). What they cost depends heavily on your state, using EIA’s July 2026 rates:
| State (rate) | Four-appliance bundle, per year |
|---|---|
| Louisiana (12.72¢) | $180 |
| Texas (15.88¢) | $225 |
| US average (18.31¢) | $259 |
| New York (29.90¢) | $423 |
| California (33.61¢) | $476 |
| Hawaii (48.00¢) | $679 |
The same four machines cost nearly four times as much in Hawaii as in Louisiana. Our state-by-state electric bill guide lists every state’s rate, and the electric bill estimator lets you plug in your own.
How to Measure Your Own
A plug-in power meter, about $25 (our estimate; prices vary), reads watts and accumulated kWh for any 120-volt appliance. Leave it on a refrigerator for 24 hours, multiply by 365 and by your rate. Dryers, ovens and water heaters run on 240 volts and need a clamp meter, a smart panel or a look at your utility’s hourly usage data. Standby loads are a separate line, covered in our vampire power guide, at about $1.60 a year for each watt that never switches off.
Where to Cut First
- Water heating: a heat pump water heater is the largest single swing on this list, roughly $475 a year on our estimate ($641 minus $165).
- The dryer: a vented electric dryer is the biggest appliance in the laundry room, and gas or heat pump models change the math.
- Old refrigerators and spare freezers: a second unit in the garage runs all year. ENERGY STAR says certified refrigerators are about 9% more efficient than models meeting the federal minimum.
- Heating and cooling: these still lead the bill, as our guide to lowering your electric bill ranks.
The Bottom Line
At 18.31¢ per kWh, most kitchen and laundry appliances cost $2 to $10 a month, and the standouts are the electric tank water heater at about $53 and a dryer at about $9. Use ENERGY STAR’s annual kWh figure where one exists, multiply watts by hours where it does not, and reprice at your own rate. If a bill is high, look at the water heater, heating and cooling first, not the microwave.
FAQ
What appliance uses the most electricity?
In most homes, central air conditioning and electric heating, then an electric water heater. Among ordinary appliances, an electric tank water heater at roughly 3,500 kWh a year (our estimate) and a vented electric dryer at about 608 kWh (ENERGY STAR median) lead.
How much does it cost to run a refrigerator per month?
About $7 a month for a median full-size ENERGY STAR model at 18.31¢ per kWh (our arithmetic from ENERGY STAR’s list), ranging from about $2 to $12 across models. See our refrigerator guide.
How do I calculate what an appliance costs per month?
Watts ÷ 1,000 × hours a day × 30 × your rate per kWh. For refrigerators, freezers and other cycling appliances, use the annual kWh on the EnergyGuide label, divide by 12 and multiply by your rate.
Is a dishwasher cheaper than hand washing?
On electricity alone, the dishwasher itself costs about $3.66 a month at the ENERGY STAR median. The comparison turns on hot water, which we did not price here, so we make no claim either way.
Do appliances cost more in some states?
Yes, in direct proportion to the rate. Multiply any kWh figure here by your state’s cents per kWh; Hawaii at 48.00¢ costs 3.8 times Louisiana at 12.72¢ for identical use.