How Much Does It Cost to Run an Electric Furnace per Day?

Source: Planning watts of 10,000 and 6 hours a day, hours of element running time a day in winter. Price: 17.23 cents per kWh, the 2025 US residential average from EIA Form EIA-861.

The monthly cost is 209% of the $150.68 average US electric bill. Because it runs only about 5 months a year, the yearly cost is 5 times the monthly figure, not twelve.

One figure cannot fit every home. These three cases show how much the answer moves with the equipment and the hours.

The lowest case costs $105 a month and the highest $707. Use the calculator above to match your own.

The same electric furnace costs different amounts depending on the state, because the price per kWh differs. Here are the three cheapest states, the US average and the three costliest, for the same 1,824 kWh a month.

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Form EIA-861 (final 2025 data). Price is residential revenue divided by sales and includes fixed charges.

See electricity rates in every state to find your own.

An electric furnace heats air with banks of resistance elements, usually switched on in stages. A 10 kW unit that runs 6 hours uses 60 kWh in a day, which is why homes with electric furnaces see their largest bills in the coldest months.

An electric furnace uses resistance elements, so every kWh becomes one kWh of heat. Home size, insulation and outdoor temperature set the hours, and the size of the unit sets the draw.

For scale, the EIA Residential Energy Consumption Survey found the average US home used about 109 kWh a month on space heating in 2020, and the average detached house about 119 kWh. These averages include homes with no such equipment, so a home that has it uses more.

The range for this kind of appliance runs from about 5,000 to 20,000 watts. At 6 hours a day that is $157 to $629 a month, which is why checking the label on yours is worth the minute.

• Upgrading to a heat pump can cut heating electricity substantially.
• Seal air leaks and add attic insulation before replacing equipment.
• Check whether your utility has a heating rate or a heat pump rebate.

Next step: Heat pump versus furnace calculator. For general ideas, read how to lower your electric bill.

Other appliances in the heating group: Space Heater, Baseboard Heater, Heat Pump, Electric Blanket, Electric Fireplace.

The cost is watts divided by 1,000, times hours, times your price per kWh. The 10,000 watts is a planning figure for this kind of appliance, set from typical product ratings, and the 6 hours is an assumed day of use. Neither is copied from a federal table. Federal guidance describes the method and warns that real wattage varies, so we publish our own typical ranges and label them as such. Prices come from EIA Form EIA-861 for 2025.

The calculation is the standard one used in the U.S. Department of Energy's consumer guidance on estimating appliance energy use. Wattage varies by product age and features, so the label on your own appliance beats any average. Read more in our methodology.