How much does it cost to run a clothes iron?
We've pre-filled a typical clothes iron below. Set your electricity rate and adjust the hours to match how you use yours — the cost updates instantly.
A clothes iron looks tiny next to a space heater, but the two work the same way: pure electric-resistance heat, no efficiency losses to hide behind. At 1,100 watts, ironing for an hour costs about the same per minute as running that space heater — the only reason irons don't wreck your bill is that nobody irons for eight hours a night. The thermostat also isn't holding 1,100 watts the whole time; it clicks the element on and off to hold the soleplate at temperature, so your real draw over a session runs noticeably below the peak rating.
That's why the monthly cost is one of the smallest numbers this calculator will ever show you — a typical 15-20 minutes of ironing a few times a week lands well under a dollar a month at average U.S. rates. The lesson isn't to iron less, it's that if you're chasing bill savings, an iron was never the problem: it's the dryer, the water heater, and anything that runs for hours instead of minutes.
What drives the cost of running a clothes iron
- Wattage while heating: irons draw close to their peak (typically 800-1,800W, ~1,100W typical) only while bringing the soleplate up to temperature
- Thermostat cycling: once at temperature, the element cycles on and off to hold heat, so average draw during a session runs well under the peak wattage
- Total minutes at the ironing board: because the default use case is ~0.2 hours/day (about 12 minutes), total session length — not the wattage — is what actually moves the monthly total
How to cut it
- Iron in batches: do all your ironing in one session instead of heating up the iron multiple times a week, since reheating from cold costs more than staying at temperature
- Use the lowest heat/steam setting the fabric allows — cotton and linen need the full 1,100W range, but synthetics and silk press fine at a fraction of that power
- Iron slightly damp clothes pulled straight from the dryer or a spray bottle — steam does the flattening work so you need less time at high heat
- Turn the iron off (many auto-shutoff after ~8-15 min idle anyway) the moment you're on the last item, and finish the pile while the soleplate coasts down
Common questions
How much does it cost to run a clothes iron per month?
At a typical 1,100W and about 0.2 hours a day, a clothes iron costs roughly $1.12 a month at $0.17/kWh. Set your own rate and hours above for an exact figure.
How can I cut the cost of running a clothes iron?
Iron in batches: do all your ironing in one session instead of heating up the iron multiple times a week, since reheating from cold costs more than staying at temperature
Does a steam iron cost more to run than a dry iron?
Both. The iron pulls close to its full wattage (roughly 1,100W typical, up to 1,800W on some models) for the first minute or two while the soleplate heats from cold. Once it reaches your set temperature, the thermostat cycles the heating element on and off to hold it there, so the average draw over a full session is lower than that peak number — but the peak is what determines which circuit breaker or extension cord rating you need.
Is it cheaper to iron a full load at once instead of spreading it out?
Steam irons draw slightly more than dry irons at the same heat setting, since some extra power keeps the water reservoir hot enough to generate steam — but the difference is small next to the cost of the heating element itself, typically adding only a few cents a month even with daily use.
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