Arbor Breaks Down What Every Appliance in Your Home Costs to Run

A household with central air conditioning, an electric water heater, and electric heating can spend $1,500 or more annually on those three systems alone. That figure does not include a single light bulb, television, or phone charger.

Arbor, an automated energy-switching platform founded in 2022 and operating across deregulated electricity states, analyzes billing data for over 100,000 households. One pattern appears consistently: the appliances people worry about most are among the cheapest to run, and the ones they ignore cost the most.

HVAC and water heating account for the largest share

Two systems consume the majority of residential electricity. Space heating, space cooling, and water heating together use more electricity than all other end uses combined in most homes, according to EIA's Residential Energy Consumption Survey.

Central air conditioning units draw 3,000 to 4,000 watts during operation. A household running central AC for eight to nine hours a day through June, July, August, and September can expect annual cooling costs around $460 at current average rates, based on U.S. Department of Energy estimates.

Electric furnaces are more expensive. A home relying on electric heat can consume 3,000 to 6,000 kWh annually just for heating, adding $450 to $900 at 15 cents per kWh.

Electric water heaters draw 3,000 to 4,500 watts during heating cycles and can consume 4,000 to 5,000 kWh per year. At the national average residential rate of 17.45 cents per kWh, that works out to $700 to $870 annually for hot water alone.

What the rest of your appliances actually cost

Here is what the remaining appliances in a typical household cost to operate per year at 15 cents per kWh, based on EIA and Department of Energy consumption data:

• Refrigerator: 400 to 600 kWh per year, costing $60 to $90
• Clothes dryer (electric): 600 to 1,000 kWh per year, costing $90 to $150
• Electric oven/range: 500 to 800 kWh per year, costing $75 to $120
• Dishwasher: 300 to 500 kWh per year, costing $45 to $75
• Television (LED, 55-inch): 50 to 100 kWh per year, costing $8 to $15
• Desktop computer + monitor: 200 to 500 kWh per year, costing $30 to $75
• Washing machine: 50 to 150 kWh per year, costing $8 to $23

Refrigerators run 24 hours a day and cost $60 to $90 a year. Televisions, the appliance that many households unplug out of habit, cost $8 to $15. A single electric water heater costs 8 to 10 times as much to run as a TV.

Phantom loads add $92 to $183 per year

Electronics plugged in but turned off still draw standby power, often called "phantom load." Phantom load is the electricity consumed by devices that remain plugged in when not actively in use.

Collectively, standby power costs American households about $19 billion per year, according to U.S. Department of Energy data. At the household level, that translates to $92 to $183 annually, or 5 to 10% of a typical electricity bill.

Common offenders include:

• Cable boxes and DVRs: 15 to 40 watts continuously, costing $20 to $53 per year
• Game consoles in standby mode: 5 to 15 watts, costing $7 to $20 per year
• Smart speakers and routers: 5 to 15 watts each, running 24/7
• Laptop chargers plugged in without a laptop: 1 to 5 watts

A smart power strip that cuts standby power to an entertainment center and home office eliminates most of this for a one-time cost of $25 to $40.

Pool pumps, EV chargers, and other high-draw additions

Two appliances that often surprise homeowners are pool pumps and Level 2 EV chargers. A pool pump running during summer months consumes 2,000 to 3,500 kWh per year, adding $300 to $525 at 15 cents per kWh.

Level 2 EV chargers used daily consume 2,500 to 4,500 kWh annually, adding $375 to $675. A household that installs both an EV charger and a pool pump can see total annual consumption jump by 4,500 to 8,000 kWh, enough to raise the monthly bill by $56 to $100 even before accounting for HVAC costs.

How to tell if your bill is a usage problem or a rate problem

After reviewing your appliances, you may find that nothing stands out. If usage held steady between two consecutive bills but the dollar amount grew, the issue is your rate, not your appliances.

A household using 900 kWh per month on a utility default rate of $0.12/kWh pays $108 in supply charges. That same household at a competitive rate of $0.08/kWh pays $72. The $36 monthly difference equals $432 per year, which is more than the annual operating cost of a refrigerator, dishwasher, oven, and television combined.

Even after optimizing every appliance in the house, the supply rate determines the price of every remaining kWh, including the ones that can't be reduced.

Lowering your electric bill by addressing both rate and usage

Appliance-level awareness helps target the right devices. Turning off a TV saves $15 a year. Upgrading an old electric water heater to a heat pump model can save $300 or more.

Neither produces the fastest return. Switching the supply rate reprices every kilowatt-hour consumed, including refrigeration and water heating that run regardless of behavior changes.

Arbor operates across deregulated states, benchmarking current supply rates against competitive fixed-rate alternatives and processing switches when savings justify the change.

Average U.S. household consumption runs approximately 900 kWh per month, according to EIA data. If your usage is near that average but your bill exceeds $135 to $150 per month, your supply rate may be above the competitive range for your area. Combining a lower supply rate with appliance-level efficiency adjustments can save $300 to $700 per year for an average household.

Households that pay the least for electricity manage both variables: they consume efficiently and they keep their supply rate below the utility's default.