Appliance Wattage Chart: How Much Power Does Every Appliance Use? (2026)

Manufacturers print wattage on the nameplate. Homeowners see those numbers and try to estimate cost. The math is simple in theory: watts times hours divided by 1,000 gives you kilowatt-hours, and kilowatt-hours times your electricity rate gives you dollars. The problem is that two of those three numbers are not what they appear to be.

Cycling appliances do not run at full wattage all the time. A refrigerator with a 150-watt compressor draws that 150 watts for roughly 8 hours out of every 24, not all 24. A central air conditioner rated at 3,500 watts cycles on and off based on the thermostat and outdoor temperature. The duty cycle, the share of time the appliance actually runs, can easily be 30% to 60% lower than the worst case the wattage suggests.

The other moving piece is your state rate. The April 2026 EIA Electric Power Monthly puts the U.S. residential average at 18.05¢/kWh. The cheapest state, North Dakota, sits at 10.92¢. The most expensive, Hawaii, is 39.79¢. A 12,000 BTU window AC running eight hours a day costs about $11 a month at the national rate, $7 in Louisiana, and $24 in Hawaii. Same appliance, same hours, three very different bills.

The chart below lists nameplate ranges. To convert any of them into your actual annual cost, you need duty-cycle adjustment and your state rate. The RunWatts calculator handles both, and every appliance in this chart links to its dedicated calculator page where the state-by-state cost is laid out.

Kitchen appliances range from low-draw, short-runtime devices like blenders to the two heaviest constant loads in most homes: refrigerators and electric ovens.

Refrigerator: 150 to 250 watts when the compressor is running. With a 30% to 40% duty cycle, a standard fridge uses 400 to 800 kWh a year, costing $72 to $144 at the national average. ENERGY STAR-certified models cut that by 9% to 15%.

Freezer (chest): 100 to 400 watts running. A 7 cu ft chest freezer pulls about 250 kWh a year. An older upright freezer can hit 600 kWh.

Dishwasher: 1,200 to 1,800 watts during the cycle. Roughly 80% of that energy goes to heating water, not running the motor. Annual cost runs $30 to $60 at the national rate. The dishwasher cost breakdown covers per-load math by state.

Electric oven: 2,000 to 5,000 watts during preheat, less during steady cooking. An hour of baking at 350°F runs about 2 kWh, or $0.36 at the national rate. Microwave: 1,000 to 1,500 watts for the few minutes it runs. Annual cost is typically under $15.

Coffee maker: 600 to 1,200 watts during brew. A daily 10-minute brew costs about $7 a year. Electric kettle: 1,200 to 1,500 watts, but boils in 2 to 3 minutes. Twice-daily use runs roughly $10 a year.

Air fryer: 1,200 to 1,800 watts. Twenty minutes of use is one quarter of a kWh, or $0.05. Toaster: 800 to 1,500 watts. Daily use adds up to about $4 a year. Slow cooker: 150 to 250 watts running. Eight hours on low draws about 1.5 kWh.

Laundry is one of the largest electrical loads in any home, mostly because of the dryer.

Electric dryer (conventional): 3,000 to 5,000 watts. A typical 45-minute cycle uses 3 to 4 kWh and costs $0.54 to $0.72 at the national rate. The dryer cost guide breaks down how dryer wattage translates to monthly bills.

Gas dryer: 300 to 500 watts (the motor and controls only). Heat comes from gas, so per-load electric cost is about a quarter of an electric dryer. Fuel cost reverses some of the savings. The gas vs. electric dryer comparison works through the full math.

Heat pump dryer: 800 to 1,500 watts. About half the electricity of a conventional electric dryer per load. The premium pays back in 4 to 7 years in high-rate states like California or Connecticut.

Washing machine: 350 to 500 watts (front-load) or 500 to 1,000 watts (top-load). Most of a washer's energy use is the hot water it draws from your water heater, not the motor.

Iron: 1,100 to 1,800 watts. Ten minutes weekly is under $2 a year.

HVAC dominates electricity bills in cold and hot climates alike. Wattage spreads here are wider than in any other category because the underlying systems are very different.

Central air conditioner: 3,000 to 5,000 watts for a 3-ton residential unit. Cycling means real-world hourly cost runs $0.30 to $0.70 depending on rate and SEER. The AC hourly cost guide breaks this down by BTU size.

Window AC: 500 to 1,500 watts depending on BTU rating. A 5,000 BTU unit runs $7 to $12 a month in summer; a 12,000 BTU runs $25 to $50. Portable AC: 800 to 1,400 watts. Less efficient than a window unit per BTU because of the venting design.

Mini-split heat pump: 500 to 2,000 watts depending on size and load. The most efficient cooling and heating option for most home sizes. Whole-home heat pump: 2,000 to 5,000 watts. Cuts heating bills 40% to 60% versus an electric furnace.

Electric furnace: 10,000 to 50,000 watts. The single most expensive appliance to run in most homes. Monthly heating-season cost runs $130 to $1,300 depending on size, climate, and state rate. Detail in the electric furnace cost guide.

Space heater: 1,500 watts at full output. $0.27 an hour at national average rate, $0.60 in Hawaii. Electric baseboard heater: 250 watts per foot of length. A 6-foot unit pulls 1,500 watts. Oil-filled radiator: 700 to 1,500 watts with a thermostat that cycles, so real-world cost is 20% to 30% lower than nameplate suggests.

Dehumidifier: 280 to 1,000 watts. The compressor cycles, so a 500-watt unit running 12 hours a day actually pulls about 7 hours of run-time, or $13 to $43 a month. The dehumidifier cost breakdown covers duty-cycle math by state.

Ceiling fan: 10 to 120 watts depending on speed and motor. Annual cost runs $2 to $15. Pairs with AC to allow a 4°F thermostat setback. Box fan: 50 to 200 watts. Tower fan: 40 to 100 watts.

Modern electronics draw less than most homeowners assume. The bigger story is phantom load, the small constant draw of devices in standby mode.

Laptop: 30 to 100 watts during use, 1 to 5 watts when sleeping. Eight hours of daily use is about $25 a year.

Desktop computer: 200 to 500 watts during heavy use, 30 to 80 watts at idle. Gaming desktops and workstations land at the top of that range.

LED TV: 50 to 200 watts depending on screen size and brightness. A 55-inch model averages 80 to 100 watts in normal viewing. Gaming console: 50 to 200 watts during gameplay. PS5 and Xbox Series X both pull 150 to 200 watts under load. Standby power matters: leaving a console in instant-on adds $5 to $15 a year.

Wi-Fi router: 5 to 15 watts running 24/7. About $10 to $25 a year. Security camera: 3 to 10 watts each, also 24/7. A four-camera setup runs about $20 to $60 a year.

LED bulb (9W replacement): 9 watts replacing a 60-watt incandescent. Five hours daily use is $3 a year per bulb, versus $20 for the incandescent it replaces. The LED vs. incandescent comparison runs the multi-bulb math.

Pool pumps, hot tubs, and outdoor heaters can dwarf indoor loads in homes that have them.

Pool pump (single-speed): 1,500 to 2,500 watts. Eight hours daily during summer runs $50 to $100 a month. Variable-speed pool pump: 150 to 1,500 watts. Switches to low RPM for longer periods, cutting cost by 60% to 80%. Detail in the pool pump cost guide.

Hot tub: 1,500 to 6,000 watts depending on size and heater. Annual cost runs $300 to $1,200, driven mostly by the heater holding water at temperature. The hot tub cost breakdown covers cover quality and use frequency.

Electric lawn mower: 1,000 to 1,800 watts (corded) or battery-equivalent. Annual cost is $5 to $15 for a typical suburban lawn. The electric lawn mower cost guide compares this against gas at $65 to $115 a year in fuel.

Pressure washer: 1,200 to 1,800 watts (electric). Most homes use one for under 10 hours a year, so annual cost stays under $5.

Electric water heater (tank): 4,000 to 5,500 watts (heating element), but the element only runs to bring the tank back up to temperature. Annual cost is $400 to $700. The water heater guide covers tankless and heat-pump alternatives.

Heat pump water heater: 400 to 700 watts under load. Cuts water-heating cost roughly 60% versus a standard electric tank. Payback is 3 to 6 years in high-rate states.

Three steps, in order:

1. Adjust for duty cycle. Use the nameplate watts only if the appliance runs continuously at full output. For cycling appliances (refrigerator, AC, dehumidifier, water heater), multiply by 0.3 to 0.6 depending on type. The RunWatts calculator handles this automatically: each of the 141 appliances in the database has a built-in duty cycle from ENERGY STAR and DOE Energy Saver spec sheets.

2. Multiply by hours of use. Watts times hours divided by 1,000 gives you kilowatt-hours. A 1,500-watt space heater running 5 hours a day for 30 days is 1,500 × 5 × 30 / 1,000 = 225 kWh.

3. Multiply by your state rate. The April 2026 EIA national average is 18.05¢/kWh, but the spread is enormous. The electricity rates by state guide has the current number for every state. Plugging that 225 kWh into a Louisiana rate (12.44¢) gives $28; into Hawaii (39.79¢) gives $89. Same heater, same hours, $61 difference.

The chart above gives nameplate ranges. Your actual bill depends on three variables this article cannot solve for you: your state rate, your daily hours of use, and the duty cycle for cycling appliances. The RunWatts calculator handles all three.

The calculator covers 141 appliances with typical wattages sourced from ENERGY STAR, the DOE, and manufacturer spec sheets. Every state plus DC is included with current residential electricity rates from the EIA. Cycling appliances are duty-cycle adjusted automatically. No account, no sign-in. The math runs the moment the page loads, and every appliance row on this chart links to its dedicated calculator page for state-by-state cost. If you're trying to figure out why your electric bill is so high, start by running the math on the three or four appliances you use most.