HomeCost Radar

Appliance operating cost

Estimate what one appliance costs to run — separated from your whole bill — with a range, a confidence level, and the data source behind it.

Your inputs

Used to pick your state’s average electricity rate. We don’t need your street address.

Leave blank to use a typical default for this appliance.

Your estimate — a range, confidence level, and the sources behind it — will appear here.

How it works

We compute energy use as kWh = watts × hours × duty cycle × quantity ÷ 1000, then multiply by your state’s average residential electricity rate. The range reflects uncertainty in how you use the appliance and in the rate basis.

Worked example

A 1,500 W space heater run 6 hours/day at an 80% duty cycle uses 1,500 × 6 × 0.8 ÷ 1000 = 7.2 kWh/day (about 216 kWh/month). At a Texas state-average rate of $0.145/kWh that is about $31/month, with a range of roughly $21–$46 depending on usage.

Confidence & limitations

Because this uses a state-average rate rather than your exact utility tariff, confidence is capped at Medium. Taxes, fees, and tiered/time-of-use pricing are not modeled. See the full methodology for assumptions, sources, and the validation benchmark.

Last updated 2026-06-20 · Methodology version appliance-energy-1.0.0

Frequently asked questions

Is this my exact bill?
No. It estimates the incremental cost of running one appliance using your state’s average electricity rate — not your exact utility tariff. It’s for budgeting, shown as a range with a confidence level.
Why a range instead of one number?
Real usage and rates vary, so a single number would be false precision. We show low / most-likely / high and tell you what would narrow it — like entering the rated watts or selecting your utility.
Where does the rate come from?
A state-average residential electricity price (currently a clearly-labeled bootstrap snapshot derived from EIA data). Confidence is capped at Medium until your specific utility tariff is identified.