The ranking for an average home
| Use | kWh a month | Share of total | Cost at 17.23 cents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Everything else | 426 | 48% | $73.42 |
| Air conditioning | 171 | 19% | $29.47 |
| Space heating | 109 | 12% | $18.79 |
| Water heating | 105 | 12% | $18.10 |
| Refrigerators | 70 | 8% | $12.06 |
Source: EIA Residential Energy Consumption Survey 2020, Table CE4.1, converted to kWh a month. Price from EIA Form EIA-861, 2025.
Read the table with one caution. It averages every home, including homes that heat with natural gas, propane or oil and use no electricity for heat. In a home that heats and heats water with electricity, those two lines are much larger than the averages shown, and they often become the biggest items.
What is inside everything else
The largest line is the one the survey does not name in this table. It covers lighting, cooking, clothes washers and dryers, dishwashers, televisions, computers, small appliances, and the standby draw of devices that never fully switch off. Each item is small, and together they are the biggest slice.
Clothes dryers and electric ovens are the heaviest items in that group when they are electric, because they draw several thousand watts. A 3,000 watt dryer used one hour a day uses about 90 kWh a month, which is about $15.51 at the 2025 US average price.
What common appliances cost to run
These round-number examples show how the heavy hitters compare with small items. Check the label on your own equipment.
| Appliance | Assumed use | kWh a month | Cost a month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electric oven | 2,400 watts, 30 minutes a day | 36 | $6.20 |
| Electric clothes dryer | 3,000 watts, 1 hour a day | 90 | $15.51 |
| Dishwasher | 1,800 watts, 1 hour a day | 54 | $9.31 |
| Television | 100 watts, 5 hours a day | 15 | $2.59 |
| Desktop computer | 150 watts, 8 hours a day | 36 | $6.20 |
| LED lighting, whole home | 100 watts total, 5 hours a day | 15 | $2.59 |
An oven, a dryer and a dishwasher together can use more than every light, television and computer in the home combined. That is why habits around heat and hot water pay off faster than switching off a lamp.
Always-on loads and standby power
Some devices never fully switch off. Routers, set-top boxes, smart speakers, game consoles in standby, chargers and a long list of devices with a clock or a remote sensor all draw a few watts all day. Ten devices that average 5 watts each use 5 times 10 times 24 times 30 divided by 1,000, which is 36 kWh a month, worth about $6.20 at the 2025 US average price. That is small beside a dryer, but it runs every hour of every day, and it grows as a home adds smart devices.
A plug-in watt meter shows what a device draws when it looks off. A switched power strip cuts the draw from a group of devices with one click.
How the order changes with the home
- Hot climate. Cooling moves to the top. Houses average about 209 kWh a month for air conditioning across the whole country, and homes in the hottest states use far more.
- Cold climate with electric heat. Space heating takes over in winter. A home on electric resistance heat can use more for heating in one winter month than for everything else combined.
- Small apartment. Water heating and cooling are the two largest named uses, and the home itself is small, so the total is low.
- Home with a pool, an electric vehicle or a hot tub. Each can add one of the largest single loads in the home.
How to find your own biggest loads
- List what in your home runs on electricity and about how long it runs each day.
- Find the watts on each label and use the electricity cost calculator to price it.
- Add the results. The total should land near your bill. If it falls far short, something you did not list is using power.
- For anything that plugs in, a plug-in watt meter measures the real draw.
Sources and further reading
Frequently asked questions
What uses the most electricity in a house?
In the average US home, air conditioning is the largest single named use at about 171 kWh a month, followed by space heating and water heating. Everything else together is larger, because it covers many small loads.
How much electricity does a refrigerator use?
Refrigerators average about 70 kWh a month in the federal data, which costs about $12.06 at the US average price. Older or second refrigerators use more.
Does an electric water heater use a lot of power?
It is one of the largest single uses. Water heating averages about 105 kWh a month across all homes, and more in homes where the water heater is electric.
Does leaving things plugged in cost much?
Each device draws little in standby, but many devices together can add up to a noticeable share of the everything else line. A switched power strip stops the draw from entertainment equipment and chargers.