Cost to run an electric blanket or heated throw
What an electric blanket costs
At 17 cents a kilowatt hour, an electric blanket costs 1.7 cents an hour while it is drawing power. 3 hours a day with 100 percent average draw is 0.30 kWh a day, $1.53 a month and $18.62 a year. Change any of those three numbers in the calculator and the answer moves with them, because there is nothing else in the sum.
The label figure is 100 watts. That is what the device draws while it is working, not what it draws around the clock.
| Hours of use a day | Energy a day | Cost a month | Cost a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 h | 0.10 kWh | $0.51 | $6.21 |
| 2 h | 0.20 kWh | $1.02 | $12.41 |
| 3 h | 0.30 kWh | $1.53 | $18.62 |
| 4 h | 0.40 kWh | $2.04 | $24.82 |
| 8 h | 0.80 kWh | $4.08 | $49.64 |
What changes the number
- A blanket heats a person, not a room. That is the whole economics: 100 W against 1,500 W for the same feeling of warmth, with no heat leaking through the walls.
- Single blankets run 60 to 100 W, double and king sizes up to 200 W, and the controller cycles the element once the blanket reaches its setting, so the average draw is below the label.
- Heated throws and blanket-style mattress pads use the same order of power. A heated mattress pad left on all night is the one case where the monthly number grows.
Find your own wattage
Printed on the controller or the care label. If it gives only the fuse rating, treat the blanket as 100 W unless it is a large dual-control model.
What this does not include
It does not count the room heating you still run. If the heating stays on all night anyway, the blanket is an addition, not a saving.
Check it against your own numbers
The [running cost calculator](../index.html?device=electric-blanket) opens with this device already selected and its wattage filled in. Replace the wattage with your own reading, set the hours you actually use, and the monthly and yearly figures update in place.
Related: [A 1,500 W space heater](../space-heater/index.html), [A dehumidifier](../dehumidifier/index.html), [A window air conditioner](../window-ac/index.html).