How much electricity does a room heater consume?

With winter finally upon us, room heaters are slowly making their way back into our lives, especially as evenings start to feel noticeably colder. Once the heater comes out for the season, the question that always follows is “How much electricity does a room heater consume?”

It’s a valid concern, especially since heaters can consume a lot of power depending on their wattage, usage time, and the size of the room they’re warming. Moreover, different heaters use different amounts of power, and selecting the right one can make a real difference to both your comfort and your electricity bill. So before you plug yours in for the season, here’s what you should know about your room heater’s electricity consumption.

Room heater electricity consumption explained

A room heater’s electricity consumption comes down to two simple things: its wattage and how long you use it each day. Most household heaters average around 1500 watts, which is pretty standard for small to medium rooms. Once you know the wattage and your daily usage, the math is straightforward.

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For example, if you want to calculate the electricity consumption of a 1500-watt room heater that runs for six hours a day, you’d multiply 1500 watts by 6 hours to get 9000 watt-hours. That’s the total energy used in a day. Since electricity bills are calculated in kilowatt-hours (kWh), you just divide by 1000. So 9000 watt-hours becomes 9 kWh, which means your heater uses 9 units of electricity a day if you run it for six hours.

To figure out the cost, multiply that number by your electricity rate. With an average electricity rate per unit of Rs. 9, running a 1500-watt heater for six hours works out to Rs. 81 per day, which is pretty nominal.

A few things to keep in mind here are that the rate of electricity your heater consumes is directly proportional to its wattage. This means that a higher-wattage room heater will consume more electricity. Additionally, bigger rooms take longer to warm up, so the heater will end up running for longer.

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