How much does it cost to run a water heater?
About $68.99 a month on the typical usage below, at the U.S. average $0.1816/kWh. Set your own rate and usage and the figure updates instantly.
This is about the electricity cost of running a water heater, not the price to buy or install one — that's a separate one-time cost, usually $800–$2,500.
An electric tank heater's elements pull 3,000–5,500W and cycle on through the day — often ~10–13 kWh/day.
Running a water heater at 4,000W running 13% of 24 h costs about
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An electric water heater is usually the second-biggest energy user in a home after heating and cooling. The elements draw several thousand watts, and although they only switch on to reheat the tank, that adds up to roughly 10–13 kWh on a normal day for a family — every day, all year.
Because it's reheating water you've used (and losing a bit of standby heat from the tank), the cost tracks your hot-water habits more than anything else.
What drives the cost of running a water heater
- Hot water used — long showers, hot laundry and the dishwasher all make it reheat.
- Tank temperature: a setpoint of 140°F costs more to hold and reheat than 120°F.
- Standby loss — an old, poorly insulated tank in a cold space leaks heat around the clock.
How to cut it
- Turn the thermostat down to 120°F — plenty hot, and it cuts both reheating and standby loss.
- Shorter and cooler showers are the biggest lever, since showers are most of the hot water.
- Insulate an old tank and the first few feet of pipe; fix any dripping hot tap.
- A heat-pump (hybrid) water heater uses a fraction of the electricity if you replace it.
Data basis
- Electricity price
- U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.6.B, June 2026 year to date, released 2026-08-26. Retrieved 2026-09-11. Average residential revenue per kWh. A benchmark average, not a utility tariff — it excludes the fixed charges, tiers, time-of-use windows, taxes and fuel adjustments on a real bill.
- Appliance energy
- A representative running power for a water heater, compiled from published manufacturer specifications and public appliance-energy guidance, and presented as a typical figure with the usual range shown above. It is not a measurement of your unit, and we do not claim a single primary source for it — the nameplate on your appliance, or an hour with a plug-in energy meter, beats any typical figure we can publish.
- Usage model
- Cycling load — 4,000W running 13% of 24 h
- International prices
- rounded typical household tariffs for each market, in that market's own currency unless the row says US$ equivalent. These are planning benchmarks with no single primary source; enter the per-kWh price from your own bill for an accurate figure.
- Last reviewed
- 20 August 2026. Next scheduled review 20 February 2027.
- Corrections
- Think a figure is wrong? Tell us at corrections@watt-dollar.com and see our corrections policy.
Common questions
How much does it cost to run a water heater per month?
On the assumption shown above — 4,000W running 13% of 24 h — a water heater costs about $68.99 a month, or $827 a year, at $0.1816/kWh. That price is the U.S. average; set your own rate and usage above and the figure updates.
How is that worked out?
Running power x hours connected x the share of that time the motor actually runs. At 4,000W running 13% of 24 h that is 12.48 kWh a day, which at $0.1816/kWh costs $2.27 a day.
How can I cut the cost of running a water heater?
Turn the thermostat down to 120°F — plenty hot, and it cuts both reheating and standby loss. As a worked example: getting the run share down from 13% to 10.4% takes it from $827 to $662 a year, about $165 less.