Electricity Bill Estimator
Most people can't say where their electricity bill goes. This builds it up piece by piece, so you can see which items matter and which are rounding error.
Rates and assumptions reviewed · see every source
Why build a bill up from parts
A bill tells you the total. It does not tell you that your water heater costs more than every light in the house combined, or that the second fridge in the garage costs $14 a month to keep six drinks cold.
Adding it up piece by piece turns a vague number into a ranked list — and the ranking is what tells you where to act.
Where the money actually goes
For a typical US home, roughly:
| Category | Share | Typical kWh/month |
|---|---|---|
| Heating and cooling | ~45% | 300–800 |
| Water heating | ~14% | 110–330 |
| Electronics and standby | ~10% | 60–200 |
| Refrigeration | ~7% | 40–90 |
| Laundry | ~5% | 25–110 |
| Lighting | ~5% | 20–100 |
| Cooking and everything else | ~14% | 80–200 |
The uncomfortable implication: replacing every bulb in a house with LEDs might save $10 a month. Adjusting your thermostat 3°F often saves more, costs nothing, and takes ten seconds. Effort should follow the ranking, not the visibility.
Use your real rate, not the advertised one
Providers advertise a supply rate — say 11¢/kWh. Your bill then adds delivery charges, transmission, riders and taxes. The rate you actually pay is usually 20–40% higher.
To find it: take the total dollar amount, subtract fixed connection fees, and divide by kWh used. That is your true marginal rate, and it is the number that makes every calculator on this site accurate for you.
What this estimate leaves out
- Tiered rates. Some utilities charge more above a monthly threshold, so the last 200 kWh can cost far more than the first 500.
- Time-of-use pricing. Peak-hour electricity can be two to three times off-peak. If you are on such a plan, when you use power matters as much as how much.
- Demand charges. Rare residentially, but some utilities bill on your highest 15-minute draw of the month.
- Seasonal swing. This estimates a month with your heating or cooling running. Shoulder months will be substantially lower.
Finding an unexplained bill
If your real bill sits well above this estimate, work through these in order:
- Read your meter over 24 hours with everything off that you can safely switch off. Anything above 0.2–0.3 kW baseline suggests a device running constantly that shouldn't be.
- Check the water heater. A failing element or stuck thermostat can add $50+ a month silently.
- Check HVAC runtime. A system running near-continuously points to low refrigerant, a dirty filter, duct leakage or an undersized unit.
- Look for a second fridge or freezer. An old garage unit can use three times what a modern one does.
- Pool pump hours. Frequently set far longer than needed; many pools are fine with 6–8 hours instead of 12.
Work out individual items
Common questions
Why is my actual bill higher than this estimate?
Three usual reasons. First, fixed charges: most utilities add a $10–25 monthly connection fee regardless of usage, which this doesn't include. Second, tiered or time-of-use rates, where electricity above a threshold or during peak hours costs more than your average rate. Third, phantom loads — the 20–40 always-on devices in a typical home that quietly add 5–10% before you've switched anything on deliberately.
Where do I find my actual rate?
Divide the total electricity charge on your bill by the kWh used. That gives your true all-in rate including delivery and taxes, which is usually 20–40% higher than the headline supply rate your provider advertises. Use that number here — it is the single change that most improves accuracy.
What's the highest-value change I can make?
Almost always heating and cooling, which is roughly 45% of a typical bill. Adjusting your thermostat a few degrees usually saves more than replacing every bulb in the house. After that, water heating at around 14%. Lighting and electronics get disproportionate attention because they are visible, but they are a small share of the total.
Is my bill high compared with normal?
The US average is roughly 900 kWh a month, though it ranges from 600 in mild climates to 1,400 in hot ones with electric heating. If you are well above what this calculator estimates from your own inputs, likely suspects are an ageing HVAC system, poor insulation, a failing water heater element, or a pool pump running longer than necessary.