Running watts, startup surge, and typical monthly usage for 60+ household appliances. Use it for bills, generator sizing, solar planning — or plug any wattage straight into a calculator below.
How to read this chart: Running watts is the draw during normal operation. Surge watts is the brief spike when motors and compressors start — it matters for generators, inverters, and UPS units, not your bill. Monthly kWh assumes the typical usage shown; your habits shift it. Monthly cost = kWh × your rate — check any device with the appliance running cost calculator.
Kitchen
| Appliance | Running watts | Surge watts | Typical use | Monthly kWh |
|---|
| Refrigerator (modern, 18 cu ft) | 100–200 | 900–1,200 | cycles 24/7 | 30–60 |
| Chest freezer | 80–150 | 800–1,000 | cycles 24/7 | 25–45 |
| Electric oven | 2,000–3,600 | — | 1 h/day | 60–100 |
| Electric stovetop (per burner) | 1,200–2,300 | — | 1 h/day | 35–70 |
| Microwave | 800–1,500 | — | 20 min/day | 8–15 |
| Air fryer | 1,200–1,800 | — | 30 min/day | 18–27 |
| Toaster | 800–1,500 | — | 10 min/day | 4–8 |
| Coffee maker (drip) | 800–1,400 | — | 30 min/day | 12–20 |
| Electric kettle | 1,500–3,000 | — | 20 min/day | 15–30 |
| Dishwasher (heated dry) | 1,200–1,800 | — | 1 cycle/day | 30–50 |
| Slow cooker | 150–250 | — | 6 h/use | 10–20 |
Laundry & cleaning
| Appliance | Running watts | Surge watts | Typical use | Monthly kWh |
|---|
| Washing machine (cold wash) | 400–600 | 1,200 | 5 loads/wk | 8–12 |
| Washing machine (hot wash) | 1,800–2,300 | 2,500 | 5 loads/wk | 35–50 |
| Electric dryer | 2,500–4,000 | 5,500 | 5 loads/wk | 55–90 |
| Heat-pump dryer | 600–1,000 | — | 5 loads/wk | 15–25 |
| Iron | 1,000–1,800 | — | 1 h/wk | 4–8 |
| Vacuum cleaner | 500–1,200 | 1,500 | 1 h/wk | 2–5 |
Heating & cooling
| Appliance | Running watts | Surge watts | Typical use | Monthly kWh |
|---|
| Space heater | 750–1,500 | — | 6 h/day | 135–270 |
| Window AC (8,000 BTU) | 650–900 | 1,800–2,200 | 8 h/day | 150–220 |
| Central AC (3 ton) | 3,000–3,500 | 7,000–9,000 | 8 h/day, cycling | 350–500 |
| Mini-split heat pump (12k BTU) | 500–1,000 | — | 8 h/day | 120–240 |
| Ceiling fan | 30–75 | — | 8 h/day | 7–18 |
| Box fan | 50–100 | — | 8 h/day | 12–24 |
| Dehumidifier | 300–700 | — | 10 h/day | 90–210 |
| Electric water heater (tank) | 3,800–4,500 | — | 3 h/day heating | 300–400 |
| Heat pump water heater | 400–600 | — | 4 h/day | 50–75 |
| Electric blanket | 100–200 | — | 8 h/night | 25–50 |
Electronics & office
| Appliance | Running watts | Standby watts | Typical use | Monthly kWh |
|---|
| LED TV (55") | 60–120 | 0.5–3 | 5 h/day | 10–18 |
| Games console | 70–200 | 1–15 | 3 h/day | 8–20 |
| Gaming PC (with monitor) | 350–600 | 2–5 | 4 h/day | 45–75 |
| Laptop | 30–65 | 0.5–2 | 8 h/day | 8–16 |
| Wi-Fi router + modem | 10–20 | always on | 24/7 | 7–15 |
| Phone charger | 5–20 | 0.1–0.5 | 2 h/day | 0.5–1 |
| Printer (inkjet) | 20–50 | 2–8 | occasional | 1–4 |
| Set-top box / streaming stick | 3–30 | 3–15 | 24/7 | 4–20 |
Lighting & other
| Appliance | Running watts | Surge watts | Typical use | Monthly kWh |
|---|
| LED bulb (60 W equivalent) | 8–10 | — | 5 h/day | 1.2–1.5 |
| Incandescent bulb | 60–100 | — | 5 h/day | 9–15 |
| Hair dryer | 1,200–1,800 | — | 10 min/day | 6–9 |
| Well pump (1 HP) | 1,000–1,200 | 2,500–3,500 | 2 h/day | 60–75 |
| Pool pump (1.5 HP) | 1,500–1,800 | 3,500–4,500 | 8 h/day | 360–430 |
| Sump pump (1/2 HP) | 800–1,000 | 1,800–2,500 | varies | 5–30 |
| Garage door opener | 350–600 | 1,200 | seconds/day | 1–2 |
| EV charger (Level 2, 7.4 kW) | 7,400 | — | 1,000 mi/mo | 250–330 |
| Hot tub | 1,500–6,000 | — | heated daily | 150–400 |
Put the numbers to work
Wattages vary by model, age, and settings — check the nameplate label or measure with a plug-in power meter for exact figures.
