How much does a space heater cost to run?

Figures on this page are calculated from typical appliance wattages and the price per kWh you enter, not looked up from a bill. See how we calculate this.

What a space heater costs to run: typical 1500 W, about $113 a year. Adjust the figures to your own usage and electricity price.

Wattage and running cost

It only runs part of the year, so the last row is the whole season (~120 days) rather than twelve months, and "per month" means a month in season. Cost at $0.18/kWh, the US average.

An electric space heater is cheap to buy and expensive to run — the opposite of most appliances. Nearly all of them draw between 1,000 and 3,000 watts and convert essentially all of it to heat, so there is no such thing as a more 'efficient' electric heater: a 2,000 W fan heater, oil-filled radiator and halogen heater all produce the same heat from the same power. What changes is comfort and how the heat is delivered, not the running cost, which is set almost entirely by wattage and hours. This page uses an hours-per-day approach across the heating season.

Because the power is high and heaters often run for hours, the cost adds up fast. A single 2,000 W heater running four hours a day costs roughly the same each day as leaving a dozen efficient appliances on — which is why heating one room electrically can quietly dominate a winter bill. The trick is never to heat space you are not using: a heater warming an empty room, or fighting a draught from an open door, is pure waste.

The genuinely cheaper options are about targeting rather than hardware. Heating only the room you are in, using the heater's thermostat and timer so it is not on when you are asleep or out, and combining it with warm clothing and draught-proofing all cut hours off the total. If you are heating the same rooms every day all winter, a heat pump is far cheaper to run per unit of heat — but for occasional top-up warmth, a plug-in heater used sparingly is fine.

Every plug-in electric heater turns essentially all the electricity it draws into heat, which means a 1,500 W halogen, a 1,500 W oil-filled radiator and a 1,500 W fan heater all cost exactly the same per hour. There is no such thing as an energy-saving electric heater at the same wattage, whatever the box says. What genuinely differs is how the heat is delivered and therefore how long the thing runs: a heater with a working thermostat cycles off once the room is warm, and one you leave on full does not. The saving is in the running time, never in the technology.

What a space heater costs in other countries

The figures above assume $0.18/kWh, the US average. A space heater does not change when it crosses a border — the price of the electricity it drinks does. Here is what its 630 kWh a season cost in the 14 countries with a page here, dearest first.

Each figure is in that country's own currency at its average all-taxes-included price; the dollar column is there so they can be set against each other. Ireland to Canada is a factor of 3.8 — same appliance, same hours, 3.8 times the bill. Follow a country for its real retailer tariffs and what makes up that price, or see the full electricity price comparison by country.

How to cut space heater running costs

• Heat only the room you are in and shut the door to keep the warmth in.
• Use the thermostat and timer so it turns off when you are warm, asleep or out.
• Do not believe 'energy-saving heater' claims — all electric heaters cost the same per kWh.
• Draught-proof windows and doors so the heater is not fighting cold air.
• For all-winter heating of the same rooms, a heat pump is far cheaper to run.

Frequently asked questions