Home Energy Savings Calculator
See what any appliance costs to run for a year in dollars and carbon, then compare an efficient replacement to find the savings before you buy.
Find the appliances quietly running up your bill
A handful of appliances dominate a home’s electricity: anything with a heating element or a motor that runs for hours. Putting a yearly dollar figure on each one turns a vague “I should save energy” into a ranked list of what to tackle first, and shows when an efficient replacement pays for itself rather than costing you upfront for little gain.
Pair this with the Household Carbon Footprint Estimator to see how your electricity fits your whole footprint, and the Solar Panel Payback Calculator if you are weighing generating your own power.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is an appliance's yearly running cost calculated?
It is the appliance's power draw multiplied by how long it runs and your electricity price: watts divided by 1,000 gives kilowatts, times hours per day, times 365 days, times your rate in dollars per kWh. A 100-watt device left on five hours a day uses about 183 kWh a year, which is roughly $27 at 15 cents per kWh. Change any input and the cost scales with it.
Where do I find an appliance's wattage?
Most appliances list their power on a nameplate or sticker, in the manual, or on the manufacturer's site, usually in watts or in amps (multiply amps by your voltage, about 120 in North America, to get watts). Devices that cycle on and off, like fridges and heaters, draw their rated power only part of the time, so estimate the hours they actually run rather than the hours they are plugged in.
How much does an efficient swap really save?
The saving is the difference in wattage doing the same job, run for the same hours. Replacing a 100-watt incandescent bulb with a 15-watt LED, or an old fridge with an ENERGY STAR model, cuts the kWh in proportion to the wattage drop. Enter the replacement's wattage and the tool shows the yearly dollars and carbon avoided — often enough to pay back the purchase within a year or two for heavily used devices.
Is this an exact figure for my bill?
No. It is an educational estimate from the numbers you enter and an average grid carbon factor. Real draw varies with the appliance and its settings, and grid carbon changes by region and time of day. Use it to compare appliances and prioritise swaps, and check your utility bill and the appliance's own rating for precise numbers.
Estimates only, based on the figures you enter and an average grid carbon factor. Not a professional energy audit — confirm anything material with your utility and the appliance rating.