An Otter Tail Company

Appliance energy usage

How much does it cost per year to operate your appliances?

You'll find the average annual operating costs for many of your appliances in this table.

  • These costs are based on an average residential service rate of $0.0743 a kilowatt-hour,
    an average off peak water heating rate of 0.0445, and an average off-peak rate of $0.0384 a kilowatt-hour.
  • Your actual price may vary by your state and by the tariff rate you are on.
  • All cost calculations are rounded to the nearest $.01.
  • The cost to operate any appliance can be calculated with this formula:
    Operating cost= wattage/ 1,000 x hours used x cost/killowatt-hour
 Operation and cost per cooling season

 

Appliances

 

  Approx. average wattage Low hours
of use
High hours
of use
Low     kilowatt-hours High     kilowatt-hours Low
cost
High
cost
Air conditioner
     room  6,000 Btu 750 120 720 90 540 $6.48 $38.88
     room  9,000 Btu 1,050 120 720 126 756 $9.07 $54.43
     central older  8.5 SEER 2.5 ton 3,500 240 860 840 3010 $60.48 $216.72
Air-source heat pump (12 SEER 2.5 ton) 3,500 240 860 840 3010 $27.72 $99.33
     off-peak
         
Monthly
Air cleaner (room and furnace) 40 250 720 10 29 $0.72 $2.07
Barbecue grill 1,350 5 10 7 14 $0.49 $0.97
Baseboard heater (4 ft., 250 watts/ft.) 1000 100 200 100 200 $7.20 $14.40
Blanket 180 30 90 5 16 $0.39 $1.17
Blender 390 3 5 1 2 $0.08 $0.14
Block heater 500 120 480 60 240 $4.32 $17.28
Broiler 3,000 4 12 12 36 $0.86 $2.59
Ceiling fan 100 15 330 2 33 $0.11 $2.38
Clock 5 720 720 4 4 $0.26 $0.26
Clothes dryer 5,000 6 28 30 140 $2.16 $10.08
Clothes dryer - off-peak rate           $0.99 $4.62
Clothes washer 500 7 40 4 20 $0.25 $1.44
Coffee maker 1000 4 30 4 30 $0.29 $2.16
Computer with monitor and printer 200 25 160 5 32 $0.36 $2.30
Dehumidifier 350 120 720 42 252 $3.02 $18.14
Dishwasher 1,800 8 40 14 72 $1.04 $5.18
Drill 300 3 7 1 2 $0.06 $0.15
DVD player 40 50 200 2 8 $0.14 $0.58
Fan (portable) 115 18 52 2 6 $0.15 $0.43
Freezer (15 cubic feet) 335 180 420 60 141 $4.34 $10.13
   (20 cubic feet - chest) 350 180 420 63 147 $4.54 $10.58
Frying pan 1,150 10 20 12 23 $0.83 $1.66
Furnace fan motor
     intermittent 350 160 415 56 145 $4.03 $10.46
     continuous 350 720 720 252 252 $18.14 $18.14
Heat recovery air exchanger 125 300 720 38 90 $2.70 $6.48
Heater (portable) 1,500 30 90 45 135 $3.24 $9.72
Hot tub              
    4-person, circulating pump 1,500 30 45 45 68 $3.24 $4.86
    4-person, inside, 120-volt heater 1,500 120 180 180 270 $12.96 $19.44
    4-person, outside, 120-volt heater 1,500 90 540 135 810 $9.72 $58.32
    4-person, inside, 240-volt heater 6,000 30 45 180 270 $12.96 $19.44
    4-person, outside, 240-volt heater 6,000 90 135 540 810 $38.88 $58.32
Humidifier (portable) 100 80 540 8 54 $0.58 $3.89
Iron 1,000 1 10 1 10 $0.07 $0.72
Lawn mower 1,500 2 4 3 6 $0.22 $0.43
Lighting
     Incandescent (60w) 60 17 200 1 12 $0.07 $0.86
     Compact fluorescent (60watt equivalent) 18 17 200 0.3 4 $0.02 $0.26
     Chandelier - 5 lamp 300 10 183 3 55 $0.22 $3.95
     Fluorescent (2 - 4-foot tubes) 100 10 200 1 20 $0.07 $1.44
Microwave oven 1,500 5 30 8 45 $0.54 $3.24
Power saw 275 2 4 0.6 1.1 $0.04 $0.08
Range       
    Oven 3,500 10 50 35 175 $2.52 $12.60
    Small element 1,200 10 50 12 60 $0.86 $4.32
    Large element 2,300 10 50 23 115 $1.66 $8.28
    Self-cleaning cycle only 3,200 10 50 32 160 $2.30 $11.52
Refrigerator-freezer
     frost-free 16-18 cu. ft. 400 150 300 60 120 $4.32 $8.64
     not frost-free 10-15 cu. ft. 300 190 300 57 90 $4.10 $6.48
     side by side 780 190 300 148 234 $10.67 $16.85
Sewing machine 75 4 14 0.3 1 $0.02 $0.08
Stereo 30 1 170 0.03 5 $0.01 $0.37
Sun lamp 280 1 4 0.3 1 $0.02 $0.08
Television - color
    CRT 27" 170 60 440 10 75 $0.73 $5.39
    CRT 32" 200 60 440 12 88 $0.86 $6.34
    LCD 32" 125 60 440 8 55 $0.56 $4.09
    Plasma 42" 280 60 440 17 123 $1.25 $9.15
    Rear projection 55" 300 60 440 18 132 $1.34 $9.81
TiVO 30 720 720 22 22 $1.60 $1.60
Toaster <