How Much Does It Cost to Run a Space Heater?
Electricity prices: EIA July 2026, last checked October 2, 2026.
A space heater drawing 1,500 watts for 8 hours a day costs about $66.83 a month to run at 18.31 cents per kWh.
Per month (30.4 days)$66.831,500 W for 8 hours a day at 18.31 cents per kWhShown for the settings below: a 1,500-watt heater on high at the U.S. average price (18.31 cents per kWh, EIA). Change them to match your heater.
1. Your heater
The watts are printed on the label or in the manual.
2. How much you run it, and your price
120 days is roughly December through March.
State figures are EIA's average residential price for July 2026. Your own bill (total charges divided by kWh used) is better.
100% is the most it can cost. A heater with a thermostat switches off once the room is warm, so the real share is lower; this slider is your estimate, not a published figure.
- Per hour$0.27 (1.5 kWh)
- Per day$2.20 (12 kWh)
- Per month$66.83
- Your season, 120 days$264 (1,440 kWh)
How we got this
- The heater draws 1,500 watts on its high setting.
- The element is heating for 100% of those hours, so the full 1,500 W counts. A thermostat that switches it off would lower this.
- Watts times hours, divided by 1,000, gives kilowatt-hours a day: 1,500 W × 8 hours ÷ 1,000 = 12 kWh a day (Virginia Cooperative Extension formula)
- An average month is 365 days divided by 12: 12 kWh a day × 365 days ÷ 12 months = 365.00 kWh (rounded to two decimals)
- Times your electricity price, in cents, divided by 100: 365.00 kWh × 18.31 cents per kWh ÷ 100 = $66.83 a month (rounded to the cent) (EIA, July 2026 data)
The idea behind it: Running cost comes down to the watts the element draws, the hours it is actually heating and what your utility charges per kilowatt-hour. So two heaters with the same wattage cost the same for each hour they heat, and the low setting or a thermostat that switches the element off saves money by cutting the watts or the heating hours.
Enter the heater's watts, how many hours a day you run it and your state. You get the cost per hour, day, month and for the whole season, using your state's latest average residential electricity price from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
How this is calculated
Cost per month = watts x hours per day / 1,000 x days in an average month x your price per kWh. The watts are the heater's high or low setting (or the mix you choose), reduced by any thermostat cycling percentage you enter; the season figure uses the number of days you enter. The formula is Virginia Cooperative Extension's appliance formula. The price starts at the U.S. average residential price (EIA) and switches to your state's EIA price when you pick a state, or to your own if you type one. The parts that change the bill are the ones only you know: how many hours it runs, whether it runs on high, how often its thermostat clicks it off, and what you pay per kWh. A single national figure hides that the same heater costs $508 more over a 120-day winter of 8-hour days in Hawaii than in Louisiana.
Worked examples: cost by hours of use
At the U.S. average residential price (18.31 cents per kWh, EIA, July 2026), running the whole time it is on.
| Hours a day | 1,500 W per day | 1,500 W per month | 750 W per day | 750 W per month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $0.27 | $8.35 | $0.14 | $4.18 |
| 4 | $1.10 | $33.42 | $0.55 | $16.71 |
| 8 | $2.20 | $66.83 | $1.10 | $33.42 |
| 12 | $3.30 | $100.25 | $1.65 | $50.12 |
| 24 | $6.59 | $200.49 | $3.30 | $100.25 |
A 1,500-watt heater, 8 hours a day, in every state
EIA average residential price for July 2026. One month's average: winter rates and tiered plans can differ.
| State | Cents per kWh | Per hour | Per day | Per month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 16.40 | $0.25 | $1.97 | $59.86 |
| Alaska | 28.83 | $0.43 | $3.46 | $105.23 |
| Arizona | 15.38 | $0.23 | $1.85 | $56.14 |
| Arkansas | 14.33 | $0.21 | $1.72 | $52.30 |
| California | 33.61 | $0.50 | $4.03 | $122.68 |
| Colorado | 17.00 | $0.26 | $2.04 | $62.05 |
| Connecticut | 24.16 | $0.36 | $2.90 | $88.18 |
| Delaware | 18.48 | $0.28 | $2.22 | $67.45 |
| District of Columbia | 25.21 | $0.38 | $3.03 | $92.02 |
| Florida | 15.03 | $0.23 | $1.80 | $54.86 |
| Georgia | 16.27 | $0.24 | $1.95 | $59.39 |
| Hawaii | 48.00 | $0.72 | $5.76 | $175.20 |
| Idaho | 13.73 | $0.21 | $1.65 | $50.11 |
| Illinois | 19.22 | $0.29 | $2.31 | $70.15 |
| Indiana | 16.73 | $0.25 | $2.01 | $61.06 |
| Iowa | 15.99 | $0.24 | $1.92 | $58.36 |
| Kansas | 15.27 | $0.23 | $1.83 | $55.74 |
| Kentucky | 13.81 | $0.21 | $1.66 | $50.41 |
| Louisiana | 12.72 | $0.19 | $1.53 | $46.43 |
| Maine | 32.41 | $0.49 | $3.89 | $118.30 |
| Maryland | 21.41 | $0.32 | $2.57 | $78.15 |
| Massachusetts | 30.49 | $0.46 | $3.66 | $111.29 |
| Michigan | 23.05 | $0.35 | $2.77 | $84.13 |
| Minnesota | 17.45 | $0.26 | $2.09 | $63.69 |
| Mississippi | 14.54 | $0.22 | $1.74 | $53.07 |
| Missouri | 16.09 | $0.24 | $1.93 | $58.73 |
| Montana | 14.99 | $0.22 | $1.80 | $54.71 |
| Nebraska | 13.78 | $0.21 | $1.65 | $50.30 |
| Nevada | 12.77 | $0.19 | $1.53 | $46.61 |
| New Hampshire | 26.60 | $0.40 | $3.19 | $97.09 |
| New Jersey | 25.19 | $0.38 | $3.02 | $91.94 |
| New Mexico | 16.09 | $0.24 | $1.93 | $58.73 |
| New York | 29.90 | $0.45 | $3.59 | $109.13 |
| North Carolina | 15.16 | $0.23 | $1.82 | $55.33 |
| North Dakota | 13.41 | $0.20 | $1.61 | $48.95 |
| Ohio | 19.45 | $0.29 | $2.33 | $70.99 |
| Oklahoma | 14.35 | $0.22 | $1.72 | $52.38 |
| Oregon | 15.97 | $0.24 | $1.92 | $58.29 |
| Pennsylvania | 21.72 | $0.33 | $2.61 | $79.28 |
| Rhode Island | 28.29 | $0.42 | $3.39 | $103.26 |
| South Carolina | 15.47 | $0.23 | $1.86 | $56.47 |
| South Dakota | 15.37 | $0.23 | $1.84 | $56.10 |
| Tennessee | 13.71 | $0.21 | $1.65 | $50.04 |
| Texas | 15.88 | $0.24 | $1.91 | $57.96 |
| Utah | 13.12 | $0.20 | $1.57 | $47.89 |
| Vermont | 23.75 | $0.36 | $2.85 | $86.69 |
| Virginia | 17.55 | $0.26 | $2.11 | $64.06 |
| Washington | 14.71 | $0.22 | $1.77 | $53.69 |
| West Virginia | 15.78 | $0.24 | $1.89 | $57.60 |
| Wisconsin | 19.06 | $0.29 | $2.29 | $69.57 |
| Wyoming | 14.36 | $0.22 | $1.72 | $52.41 |
What this estimate leaves out
- Time-of-use and tiered rates. Enter your blended price, or run it twice for peak and off-peak.
- How much the heater lets you turn down the rest of the house. That saving is real for some homes and zero for others.
- Heaters that burn fuel. This calculator is for plug-in electric heaters only.
Safety, from the agencies that track heater fires
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates that portable heaters, including electric space heaters, were involved in an average of 1,600 fires a year from 2020 to 2022, with an average of 70 deaths and 150 injuries a year. Its safety habits for electric heaters:
- Keep all sides of the heater at least 3 feet from beds, clothes, curtains, papers, sofas and anything else that can catch fire.
- Plug it straight into a wall outlet. Never use an extension cord or power strip, and never run the cord under rugs or carpet.
- Keep it away from water, and never touch it when you are wet.
- Set it on a stable, level surface where it will not be knocked over.
- Never leave it running while you are out of the room or asleep. The U.S. Fire Administration says the same: turn it off when you leave the room or go to bed.
- If the cord or plug is hot, unplug the heater and have it repaired by an authorized repair person; if the outlet is hot, call a certified electrician.
- Check SaferProducts.gov to see whether your heater has been recalled.
Questions people ask
How much does it cost to run a space heater?
A 1,500-watt heater on high uses 1.5 kWh every hour it runs. At the U.S. average residential price of 18.31 cents per kWh (EIA, July 2026) that is $0.27 an hour, $2.20 for an 8-hour day and about $66.83 a month. Your state's price and your own hours change it a lot, so enter them above.
Does a 750-watt setting cost half as much?
Per hour, yes: half the watts is half the kWh and half the cost. Whether it costs half per day depends on the room. If low cannot keep the room warm, you may run it more hours, and a heater with a thermostat cycles on and off on either setting. The calculator takes the setting, your hours and an on-time share, so you can try both.
How do I work it out myself?
Watts times hours per day, divided by 1,000, gives kWh per day; multiply by the number of days, then by your price per kWh. That is the formula in Virginia Cooperative Extension's appliance energy guide. Example: 1,500 W x 8 hours / 1,000 = 12 kWh a day; at 15 cents that is $1.80 a day.
Where do the state prices come from?
The U.S. Energy Information Administration's Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.6.A, average residential price by state, July 2026 (released Sep 24, 2026). In that month it ran from 12.72 cents per kWh in Louisiana to 48 in Hawaii; Oklahoma was 14.35. We refresh the table when EIA publishes a new month. It is a statewide average, so your bill is the better number.
Is a space heater cheaper than turning up the furnace?
Only if it lets you keep the rest of the house cooler, and that depends on your furnace, your fuel price and your house, which this page does not have. We have not found an official source that compares them in general terms, so we do not give a number. What the calculator can tell you is exactly what the space heater itself adds to your electric bill.
Is it safe to leave a space heater on overnight?
No. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission says never to leave a heater operating while unattended or while you are sleeping, and the U.S. Fire Administration says to turn space heaters off when leaving the room or going to bed.
Does the calculator store what I type?
No. It runs in your browser and nothing is sent or kept.
Sources and references
- U.S. Energy Information Administration: Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.6.A, average residential price of electricity by state, July 2026 (released Sep 24, 2026; checked Oct 2, 2026)
- Virginia Cooperative Extension (Virginia Tech): Estimating Appliance and Home Electronic Energy Use, publication 2901-9014 (kWh formula; portable heaters 750 to 1,500 W; checked Oct 2, 2026)
- U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission: 7 Highly Effective Portable Heater Safety Habits (checked Oct 2, 2026)
- U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission: Keep Warm and Safe This Winter (news release, Jan 23, 2026; checked Oct 2, 2026)
- U.S. Fire Administration (FEMA): Heating fire safety (checked Oct 2, 2026)
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