If you are wondering how much electricity your electric fireplace is consuming then this article is for you. We will calculate the power consumption of a electric fireplace and also look at the cost to use it for an entire year.
By the end of this article you will learn to calculate power consumption of any electric fireplace using a simple calculator.
Electric fireplaces are normally rated between 750 watts to 1500 watts. A 1500 watt electric fireplace running for 4 hours in a day will consume around 6 kWh of electricity in a day, 180 kWh of electricity in a month and around 2,190 kWh of electricity in a year.
To calculate the cost to run an electric fireplace, just multiply the above power consumption figures with your electricity tariff.
electric fireplace Power Consumption:
The power consumption of a electric fireplace (for that matter any electrical appliances) depends upon two main things
- First is the wattage of your electric fireplace,
- And second is the electricity tariff in your area.
Before we jump in to calculating the power consumption of your electric fireplace, lets see what these terms are and how you can find out your electric fireplace wattage and the electricity tariff of your locality.
If you already know these terms and just want to use the calculator then please scroll down.
what is The Wattage of An electric fireplace:
The wattage of an electric fireplace varies from 750 watts to over 1500 watts, the higher the wattage, quicker it heats up and more is the electricity consumption.
You can find the wattage of your electric fireplace by reading on the label in it or just look for your electric fireplace on amazon and you will find its wattage in the description section.
(if you don’t have time for that then don’t worry, I have created a small table which shows power consumption of a range of electric fireplace having different wattage).
If you don’t know what a watt is then here it is,
Watt is the unit of power. It means the rate at which electricity is consumed or produced by a device. For example, a 50 watt TV consumes power at a rate of 50 watts per hour, it does not mean that the TV consumed 50 units of electricity, it means it will consume power at a rate of 50 watts every hour.
So in short, the wattage of an electric fire place lies between 750 watts to 1500 watts and you can find it by looking at the label on it. With that out of the way lets look at what is electricity tariff?
What is your Electricity Tariff:
In simple words electricity tariff is the amount your electricity provider charges you for one unit (kWh) of electricity. I live in Mumbai, India here the electricity tariff is Rs 12/kWh.
(What is a Kilowatt hour (kWh) – Kilowatt hours or units of electricity is the energy consumption of a device. For example a 50 watt table fan running for 50 hours will consume 50 watt x 50 hours = 2500 watt hours = 2.5 kilowatt hours of electricity = 2.5 units of electricity. (1 kWh of electricity = 1 unit of electricity))
To find your electricity tariff, just look into your previous month electricity bill and find out your monthly electricity consumption, then just divide your monthly electricity consumption with your total monthly electricity bill, the figure you get is approximately your electricity tariff.
If you don’t want to do any of this then just google electricity tariff followed by your location.
Calculate Your electric fireplace power consumption:
With these two information in hand you are ready to calculate the power consumption of your electric fireplace.
Let me show you with an example,
I have selected a 750 watt – 1500 watt electric fireplace listed on amazon. Lets assume we will be using it 4 hours everyday throughout the year.
(Don’t get confused by two wattages, this electric fireplace has two power modes to save electricity, meaning we can run it at 750 watts or 1500 watts.)
Hence, we will calculate the power consumption of this 750 watt – 1500 watt electric fireplace running for 4 hours every day throughout the year.
With the knowledge of your electric fireplace wattage and your electricity tariff, just use this simple formula to calculate power consumption.
Power consumption of a electric fireplace = Wattage of a electric fireplace X operational hours
Cost to run a electric fireplace = Power consumption of a electric fireplace X electricity tariff.
(Operational hours is basically the number of hours you are using your electric fireplace)
Now let’s calculate
Electricity consumption of A 1500 watt electric fireplace:
Wattage in our case is 1500 watts and number of hours is 4 in a day, 120 in a month and 1460 in a year.
Hence by using the above formula.
Power consumption of a 1500 watt electric fireplace in a day (4hrs) = 1500 watt X 4 hours = 6000 watt hours (Wh) = 6 kWh
We will convert this 6000 watt hour (Wh) into Kilo watt hour (kWh) as electricity tariffs are given for per kWh. To do this simply divide 6000 by 1000, you will get 6 kWh (As 1kg = 1000g, 1km = 1000m, similarly 1kWh = 1000Wh)
Now that we know the power consumption just multiply it by your electricity tariff and you will get how much it will cost you to run your electric fireplace
let’s calculate how much it will cost to run this 1500 watt electric fireplace for 4 hours in a day in Los Angeles, London and in Mumbai.
- In case of Los Angeles, the electricity tariff in Los Angeles is around 25.8 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh), hence it will cost around $ 1. 55 (6 kWh X 25.8 cents) to run this 1500 watt electric fireplace for 4 hours in a day.
- In case of London, the electricity tariff in London is around 36p/kWh , hence it will cost around £ 2.16 (6 kWh X 36p/kWh) to run this 1500 watt electric fireplace for 4 hours in a day.
- In case of Mumbai, the electricity tariff in Mumbai is around Rs 10 per kilowatt hour (kWh), hence it will cost around Rs 60 (6 kWh X Rs 10) to run this 1500 watt electric fireplace for 4 hours in a day.
For your reference, I have calculated the cost to run this 1500 watt electric fireplace for the entire month and the entire year in Los Angeles, London and Mumbai.
| Country (Tariff) | Daily Power Consumption of Electric Fireplace 1500 Watt @ 4 hours | Monthly Power Consumption of Electric Fireplace 1500 Watt @ (120 hours) | Annual Power Consumption of Electric Fireplace 1500 Watt @ (1,460 hours) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles (25.8 c/kWh) | 6 kWh, $ 1.55 | 180 kWh, $ 46.44 | 2,190 kWh, $ 565 |
| London (36p/kWh) | 6 kWh, £ 2.16 | 180 kWh, £ 64.80 | 2,190 kWh, £ 788 |
| Mumbai (Rs 10/kWh) | 6 kWh, Rs 60 | 180 kWh, Rs 1,800 | 2,190 kWh, Rs 21,900 |
The above figures suggest the maximum power consumption of a 1500 watt electric fireplace.
Most electric fireplaces have different temperature setting and power modes to help you save electricity. The example I took from amazon has two modes 750 watt and 1500 watt to help you save electricity and give appropriate heating.
Hence, if you are using it in 750 watt setting then just divide the above values by half.
Also if you are just using lighting feature and not doing any heating then the power consumption would be way less.
Electricity Consumption Table For Different wattage electric fireplace:
For your reference, I have made the below table which shows the power consumption of different wattage electric fireplace running for 4 hours everyday for an entire year.
| Wattage | Daily Power Consumption ( 4 hours) | Monthly Power Consumption (120 hours) | Annual Power Consumption (1,460 hours) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 750 watts | 3 kWh | 90 kWh | 1,095 kWh |
| 1000 watts | 4 kWh | 120 kWh | 1,460 kWh |
| 1500 watts | 6 kWh | 180 kWh | 2,190 kWh |
| 2000 watts | 8 kWh | 240 kWh | 2,920 kWh |
| 2500 watts | 10 kWh | 300 kWh | 3,650 kWh |
From the above figures, I think its safe to say electric fireplace a lot of electricity if used throughout the year.
Now go ahead and use the below calculator to find out the power consumption of your electric fireplace.
Just type the wattage of your electric fire place, hours of usage and your electricity tariff and let the calculator do the math for you.
electric fireplace Power Consumption Calculator:
The above calculated result is the maximum power consumption of your electric fireplace, depending on the thermostat temperature, and the power modes you choose your actual power consumption may vary a bit.
Hence if you want to know the exact power consumption of your electric fire place then you can buy a cheap Kill A Watt Meter from amazon.
Calculate Power Consumption Of An electric fireplace Using Kill A Watt Meter:
Kill A Watt Meter is a simple device which gives real time data of power consumption of any device.
You can check it on amazon using this link – Kill A Watt Electricity Usage Monitor
To use a kill a watt meter to calculate the power consumption of your electric fireplace, first connect your electric fireplace plug into the kill a watt meter and then plug the kill a watt meter in your wall socket and you are good to go.
Then start using your electric fireplace and you can see in real time how many kWh (units) of electricity it is consuming.
You can check out our other articles to know more about power consumption of other household devices and how you can reduce your electricity bill by going solar.
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References:
- https://www.globalpetrolprices.com/electricity_prices/
- https://www.statista.com/statistics/263492/electricity-prices-in-selected-countries/
- https://www.energystar.gov/
