How Many kWh Does a House Use? 2025 Data

If you’re wondering how many kWh a house uses per day, you’re not alone. According to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), the average home in the United States uses 855 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per month.

Household energy consumption has increased nearly every year since 1950 as houses get bigger and we become more reliant on electronics. Coupled with the average cost of electricity doubling since 2005, we’re paying higher electricity bills than ever. 

Now is the time to stop and consider if your house is using more energy than it needs to be. Let’s discuss average electricity consumption, what factors affect it, and how you can reduce the amount of electricity you use to lower your monthly bills.

---

How many kWh does a house use per day?

Average Household kWh Usage
Daily	Monthly	Yearly
28 kWh	855 kWh	10,260 kWh

Based on the most recent data available from the EIA, the average home in the United States consumes 855 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per month, which comes out to just over 28 kWh per day. Consumption rates fluctuate throughout the year and depend on many factors, so this is just a national, per-month average for the entire year.

Calculating your daily electricity consumption

The best way to calculate your daily electricity consumption is to look at your most recent electric bill. It should include kWh usage data for the previous 6 to 12 months. Add up the monthly kWh figures and divide by the number of months available. You can then divide by 30 to get an average for daily consumption.

---

7 factors that affect how much power a house uses

There are many factors that affect how much electricity a house consumes, and these factors can alter daily, weekly, monthly, and seasonal consumption.

1. Home size

One factor that plays a major role in how much electricity you consume is the size of your house. Larger homes have more space to heat, cool, and illuminate, so electricity consumption will scale loosely with how many square feet of space you have.

Other factors are at play when it comes to how much your home size matters. Houses with more interior space will have disproportionately high electric bills if they’re located in extreme climates, where heating and air conditioning equipment require higher energy use and more power to maintain a comfortable temperature in the living space.

2. Number of occupants

The number of people living in your home can also affect consumption rates, and this goes hand in hand with home size in many cases. Having more occupants in your home means more phones being charged, more lights being used, more zones in your living space you need to heat and cool, and more frequent appliance, TV, and computer use.

3. Heating and cooling equipment

Around 54% of all of the energy consumed in a home will go toward heating and cooling, so the HVAC equipment you have will have a significant impact on your electricity consumption. There are three important things to consider: the type of equipment you have, the age, and the efficiency ratings.

Just over half of the heating systems in the U.S. use natural gas as a fuel source, and around 75% of total use natural gas, propane, or crude oil. These systems use some electricity, but most of the heat comes from ignited fossil fuels. All-electric systems will consume significantly more electricity, leading to higher electric bills but no monthly charges for fuel delivery.

Heating and cooling equipment loses efficiency over time as parts wear down and duct leaks develop, so the age of your HVAC equipment also affects how much electricity you consume each month. Gradual advancements in efficiency standards also mean modern systems tend to consume less electricity for the same output.

On a related note, the efficiency rating of your HVAC system greatly affects consumption. High-efficiency equipment will, of course, use less electricity, especially if you have an all-electric HVAC system, but the type of system you have also matters. For example, ductless mini-splits are more efficient than central heating systems because they have built-in zoning and less ductwork that can leak.

4. Appliances

Appliances like refrigerators, ovens, and water heaters account for 25% of the average U.S. household’s electricity consumption, so the efficiency of your appliances and how often you use them will affect your monthly usage.

Homes with newer energy-efficient appliances with ENERGY STAR ratings tend to use less electricity than homes with aging, less efficient appliances. Keep in mind that the number of people in your home also affects how often you run your dishwasher and washing machine and how much water heating you need for bathing.

5. Home efficiency

As you can tell by now, electricity consumption has a lot to do with efficiency, and how efficient your home is overall will be arguably even more important than the efficiency of individual appliances. Homes with updated insulation, newer windows and doors, and recently sealed HVAC ducts will consume less electricity because these things help maintain indoor temperatures without calling on your HVAC system for more hot or cool air.

6. Climate

The climate in your area will determine how often and for how much of the year you need to depend on your HVAC system for a comfortable living space. Homes in extreme climates usually use more electricity, especially in hotter, more humid areas in the southern states, where electric air conditioners run for a good portion of the year. 

Homes in colder climates may see high energy bills if they use electric baseboards or electric heat pumps, but they’re more likely to pay more per month for their gas bill, or oil and propane for heating.

7. Lifestyle

Finally, your lifestyle affects how many kWh your home uses. If multiple people in your house work from home all day, you’re more likely to have higher electric bills than if the lights, computers, TVs, and ACs were all off while everyone is at work.

You’ll also see significantly higher electricity consumption reflected on your electric bills if you drive an EV and charge it at home, have a pool pump running, or use electricity to heat large bodies of water, like a hot tub.

Daily activities will, of course, also play a role. Hobbies that involve using electricity, like using a gaming computer or power tools, will lead to higher consumption than activities that don’t demand power.

---

How much electricity does a house use in my state?

As mentioned above, electricity consumption varies widely based on your location and the climate in your area. Monthly electric bills also vary accordingly, as they depend on consumption rates and local electricity rates, both of which depend on location. The table below includes average consumption, per-kWh rates, and monthly electric bills by state.

State	Average kWh per Month	Avg. Cost per kWh (cents)	Avg. Monthly Electric Bill
Alabama	1,112	$0.15	$167.36
Alaska	577	$0.25	$142.75
Arizona	1,059	$0.15	$156.20
Arkansas	1,049	$0.11	$118.01
California	491	$0.30	$148.38
Colorado	662	$0.15	$99.37
Connecticut	678	$0.30	$203.81
Delaware	878	$0.16	$136.27
Florida	1,107	$0.14	$159.74
Georgia	1,035	$0.14	$139.93
Hawaii	503	$0.41	$203.77
Idaho	965	$0.11	$104.41
Illinois	669	$0.16	$105.77
Indiana	876	$0.15	$128.33
Iowa	846	$0.12	$101.94
Kansas	881	$0.13	$117.35
Kentucky	994	$0.13	$125.24
Louisiana	1,238	$0.11	$136.18
Maine	560	$0.26	$146.33
Maryland	894	$0.18	$163.24
Massachusetts	559	$0.30	$168.15
Michigan	603	$0.19	$111.56
Minnesota	752	$0.15	$109.27
Mississippi	1,157	$0.13	$146.01
Missouri	1,003	$0.11	$112.24
Montana	873	$0.11	$99.61
Nebraska	996	$0.11	$105.18
Nevada	874	$0.14	$121.66
New Hampshire	600	$0.23	$140.40
New Jersey	639	$0.20	$125.76
New Mexico	659	$0.14	$90.48
New York	566	$0.25	$143.25
North Carolina	989	$0.12	$123.33
North Dakota	1,069	$0.10	$106.15
Ohio	811	$0.16	$126.84
Oklahoma	1,069	$0.11	$117.80
Oregon	924	$0.14	$133.43
Pennsylvania	791	$0.18	$139.06
Rhode Island	554	$0.32	$175.40
South Carolina	1,022	$0.14	$141.14
South Dakota	1,025	$0.12	$123.92
Tennessee	1,109	$0.13	$140.84
Texas	1,146	$0.15	$168.23
Utah	759	$0.12	$91.99
Vermont	563	$0.22	$123.58
Virginia	993	$0.14	$139.42
Washington	977	$0.12	$115.19
West Virginia	986	$0.14	$142.67
Wisconsin	658	$0.17	$114.62
Wyoming	866	$0.12	$101.24

What’s the average home electric bill?

The average homeowner in the United States pays $136.37 per month for electricity. This is based on the average monthly electricity consumption of 855 kWh and the average per-kWh price of electricity in the country of 15.95 cents per kWh.

---

How to reduce your energy usage and save on utility bills

Whether you find that your monthly electricity usage is above average, or you just want to cut down on consumption to enjoy energy savings or reduce strain on the environment, there are a few things you can do.

• Install a smart thermostat: You can use a smart thermostat to raise indoor temperatures during the summer or lower them during the winter when no one is home. Automating HVAC control can make it easy to use less energy, especially if you have electric heating and cooling.

• Upgrade to a more efficient HVAC system: Modern furnaces, boilers, and AC condensers have higher efficiency ratings, so they work just as well or better using less electricity and fuel.

• Install new appliances: Similarly, upgrading to more energy-efficient appliances is an easy way to reduce electricity consumption. Focusing on your water heater and reducing how many watts your refrigerator uses will give you the most bang for your buck.

• Install new windows, doors, and insulation: Air leaks can cause your home efficiency to plummet, which means you’ll use more electricity to run heating and cooling systems. Double-pane or triple-pane glass for windows and new weatherstripping on windows and doors can help keep your conditioned air inside where it belongs.

• Seal your HVAC ducts: Conditioned air leaking into the voids behind your walls can be just as wasteful as it leaking outside. Having a professional seal your ductwork can reduce how often you need to run your HVAC equipment.

• Have a home energy audit done: A home energy audit can identify areas to focus on to reduce your electricity consumption and make your home more efficient overall.

• Be more mindful about electricity: Get in the habit of turning lights off when you leave a room, unplugging small kitchen appliances when not in use, and shutting off the TV and computer when you’re done using them. 

• Invest in solar panels: Finally, investing in solar reduces how much electricity you pull from the grid because you can rely largely on the solar energy they generate to run your home. Going solar may not reduce your total consumption, but if high electric bills or sustainability are your main concerns, converting to solar energy is the best investment you can make.