How Much to Run a Space Heater in Illinois? $0.27/Hr, $355/Winter
Running space heater in Illinois costs about $0.27 an hour and roughly $355 for the winter — 1,500 W for 7.3 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
- $0.27 at 17.86¢/kWh
- Per winter
- $355 (182 days)
- Hours per day
- 7.3 (NOAA state heating degree-days-scaled)
- Degree-days used
- 5,099 (NOAA CPC state, population-weighted)
- Wattage
- 1,500 W (typical 750–1,500)
- Illinois rate
- 17.86¢ (October 2025–March 2026 average)
- Rank of 20 cold states
- 11 (11th most expensive)
Why this number
Illinois runs space heater longer than the national baseline in October–March — 7.3 hours a day on the NOAA state degree-day scaling used here, against 5.0 nationally — and pays 17.86¢/kWh for it. Those two numbers, times 1,500 W, are the whole $355.
Space heater 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 | $0.27 / $49 | $0.20 / $37 | $0.18 / $32 | $0.10 / $19 |
| 2 h | $0.54 / $98 | $0.40 / $73 | $0.35 / $64 | $0.20 / $37 |
| 4 h | $1.07 / $195 | $0.80 / $146 | $0.71 / $129 | $0.41 / $74 |
| 6 h | $1.61 / $293 | $1.21 / $219 | $1.06 / $193 | $0.61 / $111 |
| 8 h | $2.14 / $390 | $1.61 / $293 | $1.42 / $258 | $0.82 / $149 |
| 12 h | $3.21 / $585 | $2.41 / $439 | $2.12 / $387 | $1.22 / $223 |
What Illinois’s utilities charge for it
| Utility | Residential customers | ¢/kWh (EIA-861 2024) | Per hour | Per winter at 7.3 h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commonwealth Edison Co | 3,727,675 | 13.4¢ | $0.20 | $266 |
| Ameren Illinois Company | 1,060,894 | 11.8¢ | $0.18 | $235 |
| MC Squared Energy Services, LLC | 244,008 | 6.8¢ | $0.10 | $135 |
What the numbers say about space heater 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 space heater 7.3 hours a day against the national 5.0 — 2.3 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 space heater: $355 for the 182-day winter, against Nebraska’s $220 and Maine’s $752. Commonwealth Edison Co, Illinois’s largest utility with 3,727,675 residential customers, averages 13.4¢ — $266 for the same hours — while MC Squared Energy Services, LLC at 6.8¢ comes to $135, a $131 spread on identical use. Per million Btu delivered, resistance heat at 17.86¢ costs $52.34 against $11.58 for natural gas at Illinois’s winter average of $1.10/therm, so a 1,500 W heater is a room-by-room supplement in Illinois, not a whole-house plan. 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 space heater runs.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to run space heater per hour in Illinois?
$0.27 an hour for a 1,500 W unit at Illinois’s October 2025–March 2026 average average of 17.86¢/kWh (1,500 ÷ 1,000 × 0.1786); at Commonwealth Edison Co’s 13.4¢ it is $0.20.
How much does space heater cost for the whole winter in Illinois?
About $355: 1,500 W × 7.3 hours a day × 182 days (October–March) × 17.86¢. The hours are the national 5.0 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 space heater 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 $355 a winter; the range runs from Nebraska ($220) to Maine ($752), driven almost entirely by the electricity rate.
How we calculated this
Worked for space heater in Illinois: 1,500 W ÷ 1,000 × 0.1786 $/kWh = $0.27 per hour; hours per day = 5.0 × (5,099 ÷ 3,500) = 7.3; 1,500 ÷ 1,000 × 7.3 × 182 × 0.1786 = $355 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 space heater (national page) — The 1,500 W and 5.0 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 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 Illinois — Same Illinois rates and degree-days applied to a 2,000 W ductless mini-split.
- Cost to run space heater in Alaska — $356 for the winter at 26.11¢ and 5.0 h/day — the nearest cold-state comparison.
- Cost to run space heater in North Dakota — $318 for the winter at 11.71¢ and 9.9 h/day — the nearest cold-state comparison.