Q&A: Approx. how much does it cost to run a small space heater per hour?
Question by Jane: Approx. how much does it cost to run a small space heater per hour?
I know it will depend on electricity rates and other factors……but I’m just trying to get an idea of what people pay. It’s one of those small space heaters, about half the size of a toaster oven, and it would be on the low setting.
$ 0.18 per hour…I’m curious, where did you read that?
do electrical rates vary by utility company, or is every utility company within a state mandated to charge the same rate?
Best answer:
Answer by jimmymae2000
About $ 0.18 per hour.
What do you think? Answer below!
As you said it depends on electrical rates. The heater will have a tag that states the rate of consumption in watts. Divide watts by 1000 to get kwh used by heater and multiply that by the electric rate per kwh in your area.
EX: 1500 watts/ 1000= 1.5Kwh
January 25th, 2013 at 9:31 pm1.5kwh x $ 0.065 = $ 0.0975 / hour
Rates will very from supplier to supplier. Electricity is typically billed by the kilowatt/hour. There are probably a few nickel & dime taxes & fees thrown in. The cost of transmission may be included (I hear it’s cheap near the Hoover dam). Some suppliers use a tiered billing system – so much for the first X number of KWHs, a little more for the next tier, etc. It can get ridiculous with a time-of-use meter – there’s no telling what a KWH costs. The only thing you can do in that case is divided the charge for electricity by the number of KWHs used. You’ll see an average cost after a few months.
But the aforementioned formulas are correct. Most space heaters (set to high) will use 1500 watts or 1.5 kilowatt. If you leave it on for an hour, it will consume 1.5 KWH. Here, figuring $ 0.22/KWH, it would cost me $ 0.33 for a hour, $ 7.92 for 24 hours, and $ 237.60 if I left it on non-stop for a month.
January 25th, 2013 at 10:12 pm