In short
- What uses the most in a home is whatever heats or cools: air conditioning, electric heating, the water heater and electric showers.
- A 3,500-frigorie A/C (about 13,900 BTU) running 6 hours a day uses about 294 kWh a month; a 9 W LED bulb on for 6 hours a day, 1.6.
- A fridge doesn’t draw its full watts 24 hours a day: the thermostat switches it off now and then. A fridge-freezer uses about 66 kWh a month, and an inverter one about 26.
- The hours in the chart are an example: enter yours in the electricity usage calculator.
Words you’ll see
- Watts (W): how hard an appliance draws power while it runs. It’s on its label.
- kWh: the total electricity used, the one your bill charges for. A 1,000 W appliance on for an hour uses 1 kWh. More in watts, kWh, volts and amps.
- Thermostat: the part that switches the motor or heating element on and off to hold the temperature. That’s why those appliances don’t draw their full watts all the time.
- Inverter: air conditioners and fridges that speed up and slow down instead of switching on and off. They use less.
How to read this chart
Each row has four figures:
- Watts: what the appliance draws at full power.
- kWh per hour of use: what it really uses in an hour switched on. For appliances with a thermostat this is less than their watts, because they aren’t at full power all the time: Argentina’s electricity regulator (ENRE) measures what they use in a real hour, and that’s the figure. For the rest, watts ÷ 1,000.
- Hours a day: an example of use. Yours may be very different.
- kWh a month: kWh per hour × hours a day × 30.4 (the average days in a month).
The figures are the same ones the blog’s electricity usage calculator uses. Most come from ENRE’s official table; the ones marked “U.S. table” are from the US Department of Energy, and incandescent bulbs from their own name (a 60 W bulb uses 60 W). How the math works step by step is in how to calculate your appliances’ usage.
Fridges, A/C, fans and heating
These are the big users. Note two things: in ENRE’s table, a 2,200-frigorie inverter A/C uses 35% less per hour than a standard one (0.66 kWh versus 1.01), and an older fridge from the US table can use almost three times as much as a current fridge-freezer.
| Appliance | Watts | kWh per hour of use | Hours a day (example) | kWh a month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Refrigerator (no freezer) | 150 | 0.075 | 24 | 55 |
| Fridge-freezer | 200 | 0.090 | 24 | 66 |
| Fridge-freezer, inverter | 200 | 0.035 | 24 | 26 |
| Freezer | 250 | 0.11 | 24 | 82 |
| Older frost-free fridge, 16 cu ft (U.S. table) | 725 | 0.24 | 24 | 176 |
| Air conditioner 2,200 frigories (≈ 8,700 BTU) | 1,350 | 1.01 | 6 | 185 |
| Air conditioner 3,500 frigories (≈ 13,900 BTU) | 2,150 | 1.61 | 6 | 294 |
| Air conditioner 4,500 frigories (≈ 17,900 BTU) | 2,800 | 2.15 | 6 | 393 |
| Air conditioner 2,200 frigories, inverter | 878 | 0.66 | 6 | 120 |
| Air conditioner 3,500 frigories, inverter | 1,398 | 1.05 | 6 | 191 |
| Air conditioner 4,500 frigories, inverter | 1,820 | 1.36 | 6 | 249 |
| Ceiling fan | 60 | 0.060 | 8 | 15 |
| Pedestal fan | 90 | 0.090 | 8 | 22 |
| Fan heater with thermostat | 1,500 | 1.50 | 2 | 91 |
| Quartz heater with thermostat | 1,500 | 1.50 | 2 | 91 |
| Medium electric radiator with thermostat | 1,500 | 1.50 | 3 | 137 |
| Dehumidifier (U.S. table) | 785 | 0.79 | 4 | 95 |
To choose the size of an A/C, use the air conditioner calculator, and to work out what yours uses from its BTU, read how much an air conditioner uses.
Kitchen
Kitchen appliances have lots of watts but run for short spells: a 2,000 W kettle used 9 minutes a day uses less in a month than a ceiling fan running 8 hours.
| Appliance | Watts | kWh per hour of use | Hours a day (example) | kWh a month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Microwave | 800 | 0.64 | 0.25 | 4.9 |
| Electric oven, 25–30 litres | 1,500 | 0.75 | 0.5 | 11 |
| Electric oven, 73 litres (built-in) | 2,450 | 1.23 | 0.5 | 19 |
| Ceramic hob, 200 mm zone | 1,800 | 1.80 | 0.5 | 27 |
| Electric coil hob, 190 mm zone | 2,000 | 2.00 | 0.5 | 30 |
| Electric kettle (1.7 litres) | 2,000 | 2.00 | 0.15 | 9.1 |
| Filter coffee maker | 900 | 0.90 | 0.25 | 6.8 |
| Toaster | 950 | 0.95 | 0.1 | 2.9 |
| Blender | 600 | 0.60 | 0.1 | 1.8 |
| Hand blender | 300 | 0.30 | 0.1 | 0.91 |
| Dishwasher (12 place settings) | 1,500 | 1.13 | 1 | 34 |
Laundry and ironing
A washing machine uses little if it doesn’t heat the water; if it heats the water itself, ENRE’s table gives it five times as much.
| Appliance | Watts | kWh per hour of use | Hours a day (example) | kWh a month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Automatic washing machine, 5 kg | 500 | 0.17 | 1 | 5.3 |
| Automatic washing machine, 5 kg, heats its own water | 2,500 | 0.88 | 1 | 27 |
| Twin-tub (semi-automatic) washer, 5 kg | 200 | 0.080 | 1 | 2.4 |
| Heated tumble dryer | 950 | 0.95 | 1 | 29 |
| Spin dryer | 380 | 0.38 | 0.25 | 2.9 |
| Clothes iron | 1,500 | 0.75 | 0.5 | 11 |
Hot water and pumps
Heating water with electricity is one of the biggest uses. Electric showers vary a lot from model to model: the figure in the chart is a common value, so check the label on yours.
| Appliance | Watts | kWh per hour of use | Hours a day (example) | kWh a month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electric water heater with thermostat | 1,500 | 1.50 | 2 | 91 |
| Water pump, 1/2 HP | 380 | 0.38 | 1 | 12 |
| Water pump, 3/4 HP | 570 | 0.57 | 1 | 17 |
| Electric shower (check its label) | 5,500 | 5.50 | 0.3 | 50 |
Lighting
A 60 W incandescent bulb gives about 800 lumens, according to ENERGY STAR’s brightness chart. An LED gives the same light with about 9 or 10 W: roughly six times less. How that math works and how much you save by switching is in LED bulbs.
| Appliance | Watts | kWh per hour of use | Hours a day (example) | kWh a month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LED bulb, 5 W | 5 | 0.005 | 6 | 0.91 |
| LED bulb, 9 W | 9 | 0.009 | 6 | 1.6 |
| LED bulb, 11 W | 11 | 0.011 | 6 | 2.0 |
| Compact fluorescent bulb (CFL), 15 W | 15 | 0.015 | 6 | 2.7 |
| Compact fluorescent bulb (CFL), 20 W | 20 | 0.020 | 6 | 3.6 |
| Halogen bulb, 60 W | 60 | 0.060 | 6 | 11 |
| Halogen bulb, 100 W | 100 | 0.10 | 6 | 18 |
| Incandescent bulb, 40 W (old-style) | 40 | 0.040 | 6 | 7.3 |
| Incandescent bulb, 60 W (old-style) | 60 | 0.060 | 6 | 11 |
| Incandescent bulb, 75 W (old-style) | 75 | 0.075 | 6 | 14 |
| Incandescent bulb, 100 W (old-style) | 100 | 0.10 | 6 | 18 |
| Fluorescent tube, 18 W | 18 | 0.018 | 8 | 4.4 |
| Fluorescent tube, 36 W | 36 | 0.036 | 8 | 8.8 |
| Fluorescent tube, 58 W | 58 | 0.058 | 8 | 14 |
TVs, computers and chargers
Tube TVs and old monitors use quite a bit more than LED ones. Chargers use very little while charging, but many devices keep using some power when switched off: we cover that in standby power.
| Appliance | Watts | kWh per hour of use | Hours a day (example) | kWh a month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LED TV, 24" | 40 | 0.040 | 5 | 6.1 |
| LED TV, 32" to 50" | 90 | 0.090 | 5 | 14 |
| CRT (tube) TV, 21" | 75 | 0.075 | 5 | 11 |
| CRT (tube) TV, 25" | 155 | 0.15 | 5 | 24 |
| CRT (tube) TV, 29" to 34" | 175 | 0.17 | 5 | 27 |
| Mini hi-fi system | 60 | 0.060 | 2 | 3.6 |
| DVD player | 15 | 0.015 | 2 | 0.91 |
| VCR (U.S. table) | 19 | 0.019 | 2 | 1.2 |
| Desktop computer (tower only) | 200 | 0.20 | 4 | 24 |
| LED monitor, 19" | 22 | 0.022 | 4 | 2.7 |
| CRT monitor (U.S. table) | 150 | 0.15 | 4 | 18 |
| Laptop | 22 | 0.022 | 6 | 4.0 |
| Phone charger | 5 | 0.005 | 2 | 0.30 |
Personal care and cleaning
| Appliance | Watts | kWh per hour of use | Hours a day (example) | kWh a month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hair dryer | 2,000 | 2.00 | 0.2 | 12 |
| Hair straightener | 40 | 0.040 | 0.3 | 0.36 |
| Electric shaver | 5 | 0.005 | 0.1 | 0.02 |
| Vacuum cleaner | 1,200 | 1.20 | 0.3 | 11 |
| Kitchen or bathroom extractor fan | 20 | 0.020 | 1 | 0.61 |
Worked example: what a simple home uses in a month
Take a home with these appliances, using the chart’s hours:
- Fridge-freezer: 65.7 kWh.
- 32" to 50" LED TV, 5 hours: 13.7 kWh.
- 6 LED bulbs of 9 W, 6 hours: 6 × 1.64 = 9.8 kWh.
- 11 lb (5 kg) automatic washing machine, 1 hour: 5.3 kWh.
- Microwave, 15 minutes: 4.9 kWh.
- Laptop, 6 hours: 4 kWh.
- 2 phone chargers, 2 hours: 0.6 kWh.
- Ceiling fan, 8 hours: 14.6 kWh.
That’s 118.6 kWh a month in total. If the home adds a 2,200-frigorie inverter A/C for 6 hours a day (120 kWh), usage goes up to 238.6 kWh: the A/C alone uses more than everything else combined. With that figure you can work out how many solar panels you need or what battery you need for a power outage.
Common mistakes
- Mixing up watts and kWh. Watts tell you how much it draws while running; kWh, how much it used in total. A high-wattage appliance used briefly can use less than a small one left on all day.
- Multiplying the fridge by 24 hours at full power. A 150 W fridge doesn’t use 150 × 24 = 3.6 kWh a day: with its thermostat, ENRE gives it 1.8.
- Taking the example hours as given. An A/C in summer can run far more than 6 hours. Change the hours to yours.
- Forgetting what devices use when switched off. Read standby power.
How to find out what yours uses
The watts are on the appliance’s label or rating plate, sometimes in amps: watts = amps × volts. To measure what a plug-in appliance really uses, a plug-in power meter gives you the kWh after a few days, as we explain in how to calculate usage. Appliances wired permanently into the home (electric shower, water heater, A/C) can’t be measured that way: check their label, and for anything to do with their wiring, call an electrician.
Sources and references
- Ente Nacional Regulador del Gas y la Electricidad (Argentina). Consumo básico de electrodomésticos (in Spanish; wattage and use in one hour for almost all the appliances).
- Virginia Cooperative Extension (Virginia Tech), 2020. Energy Series: Estimating Appliance and Home Electronic Energy Use (reproduces the US Department of Energy’s wattage table: older fridge, dehumidifier, VCR, tube monitor).
- U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Saver. Estimating Appliance and Home Electronic Energy Use.
- ENERGY STAR (US EPA). Learn About Brightness (a 60 W incandescent gives about 800 lumens).
Frequently asked questions
How much electricity does a fridge use per month?
According to ENRE’s table, a fridge-freezer uses about 66 kWh a month; one without a freezer, about 55; an inverter fridge-freezer, about 26. An older frost-free fridge can reach about 176, according to the US Department of Energy’s table.
Which appliance uses the most electricity in a home?
The ones that heat or cool: air conditioning, electric heating, the water heater and electric showers. A 3,500-frigorie A/C running 6 hours a day uses about 294 kWh a month.
How much does a TV use if it’s on all day?
A 32" to 50" LED TV uses about 0.09 kWh per hour according to ENRE: 5 hours a day is about 13.7 kWh a month. A 29" to 34" tube TV uses almost twice as much.
