How Much to Run a Mini Split in Illinois? $0.36/Hr, $890/Winter
Running ductless mini-split in Illinois costs about $0.36 an hour and roughly $890 for the winter — 2,000 W for 13.7 hours a day at 17.86¢/kWh.
· Source: EIA Electric Power Monthly Table 5.6.A (July 2026 data) · next EIA update ~Oct 23
On this page: CalculatorTableHow we calculatedSources
Jump to calculator ↓Slider nudges the Illinois rate; the URL keeps it.
- Per hour
- $0.36 at 17.86¢/kWh
- Per winter
- $890 (182 days)
- Hours per day
- 13.7 (NOAA state heating degree-days-scaled)
- Degree-days used
- 5,099 (NOAA CPC state, population-weighted)
- Wattage
- 2,000 W (typical 400–3,500)
- Illinois rate
- 17.86¢ (October 2025–March 2026 average)
- Rank of 20 cold states
- 11 (11th most expensive)
Why this number
Illinois runs ductless mini-split longer than the national baseline in October–March — 13.7 hours a day on the NOAA state degree-day scaling used here, against 9.4 nationally — and pays 17.86¢/kWh for it. Those two numbers, times 2,000 W, are the whole $890.
Ductless mini-split cost in Illinois by hours per day — per day / per winter
| Hours per day | Illinois avg 17.86¢ | Commonwealth Edison Co 13.4¢ | Ameren Illinois Compan 11.8¢ | MC Squared Energy Serv 6.8¢ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 h | $0.36 / $65 | $0.27 / $49 | $0.24 / $43 | $0.14 / $25 |
| 2 h | $0.71 / $130 | $0.54 / $98 | $0.47 / $86 | $0.27 / $50 |
| 4 h | $1.43 / $260 | $1.07 / $195 | $0.94 / $172 | $0.54 / $99 |
| 6 h | $2.14 / $390 | $1.61 / $293 | $1.42 / $258 | $0.82 / $149 |
| 8 h | $2.86 / $520 | $2.14 / $390 | $1.89 / $344 | $1.09 / $198 |
| 12 h | $4.29 / $780 | $3.22 / $585 | $2.83 / $515 | $1.63 / $297 |
What Illinois’s utilities charge for it
| Utility | Residential customers | ¢/kWh (EIA-861 2024) | Per hour | Per winter at 13.7 h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commonwealth Edison Co | 3,727,675 | 13.4¢ | $0.27 | $668 |
| Ameren Illinois Company | 1,060,894 | 11.8¢ | $0.24 | $588 |
| MC Squared Energy Services, LLC | 244,008 | 6.8¢ | $0.14 | $339 |
What the numbers say about ductless mini-split in Illinois
Illinois logged 5,099 population-weighted heating degree-days over October–March (NOAA CPC state series), 146% of the CONUS figure of 3,500, which is why this page runs ductless mini-split 13.7 hours a day against the national 9.4 — 4.3 hours more. At Illinois’s October 2025–March 2026 average rate of 17.86¢/kWh that makes it the 11th most expensive of the 20 cold states for ductless mini-split: $890 for the 182-day winter, against Nebraska’s $552 and Maine’s $1,886. Commonwealth Edison Co, Illinois’s largest utility with 3,727,675 residential customers, averages 13.4¢ — $668 for the same hours — while MC Squared Energy Services, LLC at 6.8¢ comes to $339, a $329 spread on identical use. Per million Btu delivered, this unit at the NEEP median COP of 2.17 costs $24.12 against $11.58 for natural gas at Illinois’s winter average of $1.10/therm, which is the whole-house comparison the Illinois heating page works through. Illinois’s winter-average rate (17.86¢) sits 1.36¢ below its July 2026 reading of 19.22¢; the season figure uses the winter average because that is when ductless mini-split runs.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to run ductless mini-split per hour in Illinois?
$0.36 an hour for a 2,000 W unit at Illinois’s October 2025–March 2026 average average of 17.86¢/kWh (2,000 ÷ 1,000 × 0.1786); at Commonwealth Edison Co’s 13.4¢ it is $0.27.
How much does ductless mini-split cost for the whole winter in Illinois?
About $890: 2,000 W × 13.7 hours a day × 182 days (October–March) × 17.86¢. The hours are the national 9.4 h/day scaled by NOAA CPC state population-weighted HDD, October 2025–March 2026 (5,099 against the CONUS 3,500); enter your own hours above for your own figure.
Is ductless mini-split expensive to run in Illinois compared with other cold states?
Illinois is the 11th most expensive of the 20 cold states on this site at $890 a winter; the range runs from Nebraska ($552) to Maine ($1,886), driven almost entirely by the electricity rate.
How we calculated this
Worked for ductless mini-split in Illinois: 2,000 W ÷ 1,000 × 0.1786 $/kWh = $0.36 per hour; hours per day = 9.4 × (5,099 ÷ 3,500) = 13.7; 2,000 ÷ 1,000 × 13.7 × 182 × 0.1786 = $890 for the winter. Rate: EIA Electric Power Monthly 5.6.A (October 2025–March 2026 average); degree-days: NOAA CPC state population-weighted HDD, October 2025–March 2026, against the CONUS total; utility prices: EIA-861 2024.Sources: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) electricity rates · DSIRE incentive records · public IRS/OBBBA guidance. Figures are modeled estimates, not quotes or tax advice. See our methodology.
Where to go next
- Cost to run ductless mini-split (national page) — The 2,000 W and 9.4 h/day baseline this page scales for Illinois, with the sourced benchmark.
- Cost to heat a home in Illinois — Gas, propane, oil, heat pump and resistance per MMBtu at Illinois’s own prices — the whole-house picture.
- Find your electricity rate by ZIP — Illinois averages 17.86¢ but its utilities span the table above — send your own rate into this calculator.
- Solar panel cost in Illinois — Illinois’s 19.22¢ July rate, utilities and rate history on the solar side.
- Cost to run space heater in Illinois — Same Illinois rates and degree-days applied to a 1,500 W space heater.
- Cost to run heat pump in Illinois — Same Illinois rates and degree-days applied to a 3,500 W heat pump.
- Cost to run ductless mini-split in Alaska — $893 for the winter at 26.11¢ and 9.4 h/day — the nearest cold-state comparison.
- Cost to run ductless mini-split in North Dakota — $797 for the winter at 11.71¢ and 18.7 h/day — the nearest cold-state comparison.