About appliancecost

Our mission

“How much does it cost to run…” is one of the most common money questions people ask about their home. The honest answer depends on three numbers: how many watts the appliance draws, how many hours you use it, and what your utility charges per kilowatt-hour. appliancecost exists to turn those three numbers into a clear daily, monthly and annual cost — plus the CO₂ behind it — for 69 common U.S. household appliances.

How we calculate cost

Every estimate uses the standard electricity-cost formula:

• Wattage— the appliance's power draw. Where a range is given, we use the midpoint as the typical value and let you fine-tune it.
• Hours per day — how long the appliance actively runs. Cycling appliances like refrigerators use effective run hours, not 24.
• Electricity rate — your cost per kWh. We default to the U.S. national average and include a rate for every state.
• CO₂ emissions — annual kWh multiplied by the EPA U.S. average grid factor of 0.386 kg CO₂ per kWh.

Data sources

• U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) residential electricity prices
• EPA eGRID U.S. average CO2 emission factor (0.386 kg CO2 per kWh)
• Manufacturer nameplate wattage ranges for common household appliances

Rates and wattages were last reviewed on 2026-01-01.