True cost of power
The same heater costs $21 in North Dakota at 11.81¢. Enter your rate and fixed charge to see what one appliance adds to your bill.
Try it with your numbers
Cost of the appliance uses your energy rate only, because a fixed charge does not change when you run it. The all-in price adds the fixed charge to the energy cost.
The same appliance in three price zones
| Appliance | Hours a day | kWh a month | At North Dakota | At U.S. average | At Hawaii |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Space heater, 1,500 W | 4 | 180 | $21.26 | $31.14 | $73.06 |
| Window air conditioner, 1,000 W | 8 | 240 | $28.34 | $41.52 | $97.42 |
| Electric clothes dryer, 3,000 W | 1 | 90 | $10.63 | $15.57 | $36.53 |
| Level 2 EV charger, 7,200 W | 3 | 648 | $76.53 | $112.10 | $263.02 |
| Incandescent bulb, 60 W | 5 | 9 | $1.06 | $1.56 | $3.65 |
| LED bulb, 10 W | 5 | 2 | $0.18 | $0.26 | $0.61 |
Wattages and hours are examples, not measurements; check your appliance label. Prices are EIA 2025 home averages: 11.81, 17.30 and 40.59 cents.
The formulas
- kWh a month = watts ÷ 1,000 × hours a day × days
- Cost = kWh × energy rate
- All-in price = (fixed charge + energy rate × total kWh) ÷ total kWh
The all-in price falls as you use more, because the same fixed charge spreads over more kWh. The cost of one appliance does not depend on the fixed charge.
Sources
- Home price and use by state: U.S. EIA state electricity data, annual 2025; CSV: state-price-and-use-2025.csv.
Keep going
Questions
Why does the all-in price differ from my rate?
A fixed monthly charge is divided by your kWh. A home that uses little electricity sees a higher all-in price than the energy rate.
Does a fixed charge change what an appliance costs?
No. The fixed charge is the same whether you run the appliance or not, so the appliance costs its kWh times the energy rate.
What if my plan has tiers or peak hours?
Enter the rate that applies when you use the appliance. For a flat versus time-of-use comparison, use the rate-plan fit tool.