How Much Does It Cost to Run an Electric Blanket? $8/Month
Running an electric blanket at 200 watts for 8 hours a day costs about $0.27 a day and $8.16 a month at 17¢/kWh, the EIA 2025 annual US average (July 2026 monthly: 18.31¢) — roughly $41 a year.
· 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 rate for an electric blanket; the URL keeps it.
The same an electric blanket at 8 hours a day costs $5.76 a month at 12¢ and $21.60 at 45¢ — usage held constant, only the rate moving:
| Electricity rate | Per hour | Per day | Per month in season | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12¢/kWh | $0.024 | $0.19 | $5.76 | $29 |
| 15¢/kWh | $0.030 | $0.24 | $7.20 | $36 |
| 17¢/kWh (US avg) | $0.034 | $0.27 | $8.16 | $41 |
| 20¢/kWh | $0.040 | $0.32 | $9.60 | $48 |
| 25¢/kWh | $0.050 | $0.40 | $12.00 | $60 |
| 30¢/kWh | $0.060 | $0.48 | $14.40 | $72 |
| 35¢/kWh | $0.070 | $0.56 | $16.80 | $84 |
| 45¢/kWh | $0.090 | $0.72 | $21.60 | $108 |
- Typical power draw
- 200 W (80–260 W)
- Assumed use
- 8 h/day, 30 days/month
- Energy per day
- 1.60 kWh
- Cost per day
- $0.27
- Cost per month
- $8.16
- Cost per year
- $41
Why this number
An electric blanket rated at 200 watts, run 8 hours a day, costs about $0.27 a day — about $8.16 a month, or $41 a year — at the US average electricity rate of 17¢/kWh. That places it 28th of the 40 appliances tracked here, near the bottom. It is not where a high bill comes from, and switching it off will not rescue one.
What actually drives this number
The benchmark is deliberately the worst case: Jackson Energy bills a 200 W blanket for a full 8 hours a night (48 kWh/mo), and Merced ID reaches the same place at 0.8 kWh per night per side. Real thermostats cycle the elements, so most nights land below this. The 5-month heating season is our assumption — the utilities publish monthly figures only. Biddeford’s spec puts a queen at 130 W per side. Against a space heater at 1,500 W, warming the bed instead of the room is roughly a tenth of the energy.
At 200 W every hour of this load costs about $0.03, and no more efficient unit exists to buy — resistance heat is resistance heat at any price point. At this scale the levers are habit-sized, not equipment-sized: its closest heat-category neighbor on a monthly bill is the clothes dryer at about $6.62, and the electricity cost calculator prices any wattage-and-hours pattern at your own rate.
Where this number comes from
- Benchmark: 240 kWh/year — Jackson Energy’s appliance chart — details in the note above
- Assumed use for an electric blanket: 8 h/day, 30 days/month, 5 months/year — every one of these is editable in the calculator above
- Rate for an electric blanket: 17¢/kWh, the EIA 2025 annual US average (July 2026 monthly: 18.31¢), from EIA Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.6.A ; the state selector above fills in yours
Putting Electric blanket in proportion
At 17¢/kWh, an electric blanket next to the rest of the bill:
- Electric blanket at $8.16 a month is close to Clothes dryer at $6.62, and just under Humidifier at $10.20
- One hour of an electric blanket uses as much as 3 hours of a 60 W Wi-Fi router
- Over a year an electric blanket comes to $41 — about 0.3 months of a $150 monthly electricity bill
For an electric blanket: making heat is where household electricity goes, but how it is made decides the bill. A resistance element — an oven, a dryer, a resistance furnace, a kettle — converts every watt into exactly one watt of heat, so a cheap appliance and an expensive one with the same rating cost the same to run and efficiency is not something you can shop for. Equipment that moves heat instead of making it, like a heat pump, delivers several units of heat per unit of electricity and breaks that rule entirely. The only levers on a resistance load are running it less, running it lower, or heating a smaller space. On this site’s own numbers, an electric blanket lands at #28 of 40 on the monthly-cost ranking, at about $8.16 for a typical month.
The formula, in full
The 200 W arithmetic for an electric blanket, step by step:
- Watts to kilowatts. 200 W ÷ 1,000 = 0.20 kW.
- Energy per day. 0.20 kW × 8 hours = 1.60 kWh.
- Cost per day. 1.60 kWh × $0.17 = $0.27.
- Cost per month. $0.27 × 30 days = $8.16.
For an electric blanket the two levers are run-hours (8 h/day here) and your rate; at 8 hours a day, 200 W adds up — which is why anything that makes heat dominate the rankings.
Related
Other heating loads: Dishwasher ($41/yr), Electric oven ($35/yr), Hair dryer ($23/yr). Closest on annual cost: 65-inch LED TV ($31/yr), Chest freezer ($51/yr). Across all other heating loads here, the cheapest is Air fryer at $1.33/mo and the priciest is Electric furnace at $119.34/mo.
The an electric blanket table above runs a fixed rate ladder (12–45¢); the state quick-fill uses July 2026 averages from EIA Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.6.A .
Put an electric blanket ($8.16 a month) against everything else in the electricity cost calculator , check your state’s rate , or browse all 40 appliances ; year-round high bills: solar savings calculator .
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to run an electric blanket per hour?
About $0.034 an hour for an electric blanket at 17¢/kWh, the EIA 2025 annual US average (July 2026 monthly: 18.31¢), for a 200 W unit. The calculation is 200 ÷ 1,000 × 1 hour × $0.17 per kWh. At 30¢/kWh the same hour costs $0.060.
How much does an electric blanket add to my monthly bill?
Roughly $8.16 a month for an electric blanket at 8 hours a day, 30 days a month, 17¢/kWh. That is about $41 a year across a 5-month season. For an electric blanket, change the 8-hour default to your own use — run-time moves the total as much as the 200 W does.
How many watts does an electric blanket use?
Typically around 200 W, with real units ranging from about 80 to 260 W depending on size, model and setting. The nameplate on your own unit is the figure to trust — these are typical values for planning, not a measurement of your appliance.
Why is my actual bill higher than the an electric blanket figure?
$8.16 a month is the energy cost of an electric blanket alone; your bill adds fixed connection charges, delivery fees, taxes and every other load. Add the other appliances in the index to an electric blanket for the controllable part of the bill.
How we calculated this
Worked for an electric blanket: 200 W ÷ 1,000 × 8 h × $0.17 = $0.27 a day; × 30 days = $8.16 a month; × 5 months in use = $41 a year. 200 W and 8 h are the typical figures cited for an electric blanket; 17¢ is EIA’s 2025 annual US average.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 clothes dryer — The next cheaper item on the list: $6.62 a month against an electric blanket’s $8.16.
- Cost to run humidifier — The next pricier item: $10.20 a month, which puts an electric blanket in proportion.
- All 40 appliances ranked by monthly cost — Electric blanket is 28 of 40; the full ranking at 17¢/kWh.
- Electricity cost calculator — Any wattage and hours, not just an electric blanket — with the state quick-fill.
- Find your electricity rate by ZIP — Your own utility’s average rate, sent straight into the an electric blanket calculator.