💨How much does it cost to run a ceiling fan?
A ceiling fan draws about 15 to 90 watts. At 8 hours a day and the US-average 17¢/kWh, that’s about $0.61–$3.67 a month ($7.45–$45 a year) — roughly $0.003–$0.015 an hour while it’s on.
These are estimates, not a meter reading. The wattage and energy figures are typical US ranges and the 17¢/kWh is the national-average rate — the math is exact once you plug in your own wattage and rate. Your real cost depends on the specific unit, your settings and your utility.
Energy and cost, broken down
| Timeframe | Energy (kWh) | Cost @ 17¢/kWh |
|---|---|---|
| Per hour running | 0.01–0.09 | $0.003–$0.015 |
| Per day (8 h) | 0.12–0.72 | $0.020–$0.12 |
| Per month | 3.6–21.6 | $0.61–$3.67 |
| Per year | 43.8–263 | $7.45–$45 |
At the US-average 17¢/kWh. On a cheap rate (~11¢) these drop about a third; in California, New England or Hawaii (~33¢+) they roughly double. Ranges reflect the typical span of unit sizes and settings.
Why it costs what it does
A ceiling fan is one of the cheapest appliances in the house. A modern DC-motor fan uses as little as 5–35 watts; an older AC-motor fan on high runs 50–90 watts. Even at full speed for eight hours, that is pennies a day — a rounding error next to an air conditioner's hundreds of watts. The catch is that a fan cools people, not rooms: it makes you feel cooler by moving air over your skin but doesn't lower the room temperature, so running one in an empty room wastes even those pennies.
How to run it for less
- Turn the fan off when you leave the room — it cools people, not air, so an empty room gains nothing from it.
- Run the fan with the AC and raise the thermostat a few degrees; the fan's pennies an hour let the far-pricier compressor run less.
- Set the fan to spin counter-clockwise in summer (pushing air down) for the cooling breeze; a DC-motor fan sips the least power.
- Use the fan instead of AC on mild days entirely — at 15–90 watts it costs roughly 1/20th of a window unit.
Keep going
Frequently asked
Is it cheaper to run a fan or the air conditioner?▾
A fan is dramatically cheaper — 15–90 watts versus 500–1,440 for a window AC, or 3,000–5,000 for central. A ceiling fan costs roughly a dollar to a few dollars a month; an AC costs tens of dollars. On mild days a fan alone is enough. On hot days the best combo is both: run the fan so you're comfortable at a higher AC setting, cutting the expensive compressor's runtime.
Does leaving a ceiling fan on all day cost much?▾
Running one around the clock costs roughly $2 to $11 a month at 17¢/kWh, depending on the motor (15–90 W). That is cheap, but it is also wasted money in an empty room: a fan cools skin, not air, so it does nothing for a room nobody is in. Switch it off when you leave and you keep the comfort and drop the bill.
How do I work out what a ceiling fan costs to run for my electricity rate?▾
Take the wattage ÷ 1,000 to get kilowatts, multiply by the hours you run it, then by your electricity rate. Find your rate on your bill (total ÷ kWh used) — the US average is about 17¢/kWh, but it ranges from ~11¢ in the cheapest states to 30–42¢ in California, New England and Hawaii. So the same ceiling fan costs roughly 35% less on a cheap rate and nearly double on an expensive one than the figures here.
What is the average price of electricity in the US?▾
About 17¢ per kWh for residential customers as a national average (2026). The cheapest states — parts of the Midwest and Pacific Northwest — sit near 11¢, while California, most of New England and Hawaii run 30¢ to over 40¢. Your exact rate is on your utility bill; divide the dollar total by the kWh used, or read the per-kWh charge directly.