How Much to Run a Space Heater in Massachusetts? $656/Winter
Running space heater in Massachusetts costs about $0.46 an hour and roughly $656 for the winter — 1,500 W for 7.8 hours a day at 30.88¢/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 Massachusetts rate; the URL keeps it.
- Per hour
- $0.46 at 30.88¢/kWh
- Per winter
- $656 (182 days)
- Hours per day
- 7.8 (NOAA state heating degree-days-scaled)
- Degree-days used
- 5,451 (NOAA CPC state, population-weighted)
- Wattage
- 1,500 W (typical 750–1,500)
- Massachusetts rate
- 30.88¢ (October 2025–March 2026 average)
- Rank of 20 cold states
- 3 (3rd most expensive)
Why this number
Massachusetts runs space heater longer than the national baseline in October–March — 7.8 hours a day on the NOAA state degree-day scaling used here, against 5.0 nationally — and pays 30.88¢/kWh for it. Those two numbers, times 1,500 W, are the whole $656.
Space heater cost in Massachusetts by hours per day — per day / per winter
| Hours per day | Massachusetts avg 30.88¢ | NSTAR Electric Company 19.9¢ | Massachusetts Electric 23.1¢ | Direct Energy Services 15.1¢ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 h | $0.46 / $84 | $0.30 / $54 | $0.35 / $63 | $0.23 / $41 |
| 2 h | $0.93 / $169 | $0.60 / $109 | $0.69 / $126 | $0.45 / $82 |
| 4 h | $1.85 / $337 | $1.19 / $217 | $1.39 / $252 | $0.91 / $165 |
| 6 h | $2.78 / $506 | $1.79 / $326 | $2.08 / $378 | $1.36 / $247 |
| 8 h | $3.71 / $674 | $2.39 / $435 | $2.77 / $505 | $1.81 / $330 |
| 12 h | $5.56 / $1,012 | $3.58 / $652 | $4.16 / $757 | $2.72 / $495 |
What Massachusetts’s utilities charge for it
| Utility | Residential customers | ¢/kWh (EIA-861 2024) | Per hour | Per winter at 7.8 h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NSTAR Electric Company | 1,303,076 | 19.9¢ | $0.30 | $423 |
| Massachusetts Electric Co | 1,210,113 | 23.1¢ | $0.35 | $491 |
| Direct Energy Services | 498,718 | 15.1¢ | $0.23 | $321 |
What the numbers say about space heater in Massachusetts
Massachusetts logged 5,451 population-weighted heating degree-days over October–March (NOAA CPC state series), 156% of the CONUS figure of 3,500, which is why this page runs space heater 7.8 hours a day against the national 5.0 — 2.8 hours more. At Massachusetts’s October 2025–March 2026 average rate of 30.88¢/kWh that makes it the 3rd most expensive of the 20 cold states for space heater: $656 for the 182-day winter, against Nebraska’s $220 and Maine’s $752. NSTAR Electric Company, Massachusetts’s largest utility with 1,303,076 residential customers, averages 19.9¢ — $423 for the same hours — while Direct Energy Services at 15.1¢ comes to $321, a $102 spread on identical use. Per million Btu delivered, resistance heat at 30.88¢ costs $90.50 against $25.37 for natural gas at Massachusetts’s winter average of $2.41/therm, so a 1,500 W heater is a room-by-room supplement in Massachusetts, not a whole-house plan. Massachusetts’s winter-average rate (30.88¢) sits 0.39¢ above its July 2026 reading of 30.49¢; 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 Massachusetts?
$0.46 an hour for a 1,500 W unit at Massachusetts’s October 2025–March 2026 average average of 30.88¢/kWh (1,500 ÷ 1,000 × 0.3088); at NSTAR Electric Company’s 19.9¢ it is $0.30.
How much does space heater cost for the whole winter in Massachusetts?
About $656: 1,500 W × 7.8 hours a day × 182 days (October–March) × 30.88¢. The hours are the national 5.0 h/day scaled by NOAA CPC state population-weighted HDD, October 2025–March 2026 (5,451 against the CONUS 3,500); enter your own hours above for your own figure.
Is space heater expensive to run in Massachusetts compared with other cold states?
Massachusetts is the 3rd most expensive of the 20 cold states on this site at $656 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 Massachusetts: 1,500 W ÷ 1,000 × 0.3088 $/kWh = $0.46 per hour; hours per day = 5.0 × (5,451 ÷ 3,500) = 7.8; 1,500 ÷ 1,000 × 7.8 × 182 × 0.3088 = $656 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 Massachusetts, with the sourced benchmark.
- Cost to heat a home in Massachusetts — Gas, propane, oil, heat pump and resistance per MMBtu at Massachusetts’s own prices — the whole-house picture.
- Find your electricity rate by ZIP — Massachusetts averages 30.88¢ but its utilities span the table above — send your own rate into this calculator.
- Solar panel cost in Massachusetts — Massachusetts’s 30.49¢ July rate, utilities and rate history on the solar side.
- Cost to run heat pump in Massachusetts — Same Massachusetts rates and degree-days applied to a 3,500 W heat pump.
- Cost to run ductless mini-split in Massachusetts — Same Massachusetts rates and degree-days applied to a 2,000 W ductless mini-split.
- Cost to run space heater in New Hampshire — $657 for the winter at 26.78¢ and 9.0 h/day — the nearest cold-state comparison.
- Cost to run space heater in Vermont — $621 for the winter at 23.81¢ and 9.6 h/day — the nearest cold-state comparison.