Here’s “watt” you need to know
A watt is a unit of power used to measure electricity.
The average ceiling fan uses about 75 watts.
It costs just pennies per hour to power a ceiling fan.
The actual cost for your ceiling fan usage depends on a number of factors.
As temperatures start to rise, you may be looking into ceiling fan installation to conserve cooling costs. Although a ceiling fan doesn’t actually blow cold air like an AC does, a ceiling fan’s spinning blades circulate air throughout a room, resulting in a draft that cools the space. But how many watts does a ceiling fan use, and how much will it cost you?
Even on those sweltering summer days, any of the different types of ceiling fans can help keep the temperature low inside your house and the electricity cost even lower. And here’s the best part: Ceiling fans operate on low wattage (with most averaging between 55 and 100 watts), which means they don't actually use that much electricity.
Before we dive into how much energy your ceiling fan uses, it’s helpful to understand some basic terms first.
A watt (W) is the power unit used to measure electricity. The higher the wattage of an appliance, the more energy it requires to operate. Larger appliances, in general, will have higher wattages than smaller ones.
A watt-hour (Wh) is the amount of power used per hour by an appliance. The number of watt-hours will be the same as the number of watts, but watt-hours include the element of time, not just power. To understand this better, think about how your car operates (and no, you don’t need to understand horsepower or how to drive a stick to get this example.) You could rev a car up to 60 MPH (which measures power/speed), and you’ll actually cover 60 miles of road in an hour (which is distance/time).
A kilowatt (kW) equals 1,000 watts, which are converted to kilowatt-hours (kWh). This is the measurement you’ll see on your electric bill as well as in any energy usage manuals that come with your ceiling fan.
To sum everything up:
Watt: power
Watt-hour: power used per hour
Kilowatt (kilowatt-hours): 1,000 units of power (per hour)
Most ceiling fans range between 55 and 100 watts, with an average of around 75 watts. This means they consume anywhere between .06 and .010 kWh. If that sounds like very little, you’d be right; it equates to just pennies each hour it runs.
The larger a ceiling fan (measured in diameter), the more power it needs to run. Wattage is indicated on the box when you purchase a new ceiling fan, but if it’s been a while and you threw that old box out a long time ago, here’s a handy guide:
| Size (in.) | Average Wattage |
|---|---|
| 24 | 41 |
| 30 | 48 |
| 36 | 55 |
| 42 | 65 |
| 48 | 75 |
| 52 | 87 |
| 56 | 100 |
| 60 | 120 |
| 72 | 180 |
Note that this is the wattage for a ceiling fan going at full speed/power. If you have a newer fan or an energy-efficient one, they’ll likely use less wattage to operate, saving you money.
However, if you have an older ceiling fan, the regulator that controls the speed might require more power to work at the same speeds. This is why conventional wisdom says you might save money over time by calling a local ceiling fan installer to help you put in a newer, more efficient model.
For both the budgeting geniuses and the curious minds among us, let’s break down just how much it costs to power a ceiling fan per hour, day, and month.
Even a large 72-inch ceiling fan with a wattage of 180 will only draw 0.18 kWh. The average cost in the U.S. for electricity (as of February 2023) per kilowatt hour is 23 cents.
Let’s do the math:
$0.23 x 0.18 kWh = $0.041
So, it only costs around $0.04 per hour to run a large, high-powered fan. Now, let’s look at it from the perspective of the average ceiling fan in a home, which uses around 75 watts. At this rate, it draws .075 kWh.
$0.23 x 0.075 = $0.017
It costs just under two pennies per hour to run a 75-watt ceiling fan, which is standard for most homes in the U.S.
Now we’ll take it up a notch. Let’s take the average 75-watt fan and see how much it consumes if it’s on for eight hours each day.
0.075 x 8 = 0.6 kWh
To calculate the electricity cost:
$.23 x 0.6 = $0.138
It will cost around $0.14 per day to run your ceiling fan if it’s on for eight hours. If you’re someone who loves the cool breeze and white noise 24/7, you’ll pay $0.42 cents per day to keep the fan running for a full 24 hours.
Once you determine the average number of hours your ceiling fan is on daily, you can calculate energy usage for the month. We’ll use the same example as above (you have a 75-watt fan that you run for eight hours per day). You can adjust the first calculation based on how many days are in the month.
0.6 kWh x 30 days = 18 kWh per month
Now that you have your kWh, you can calculate the final cost.
18 kWh x $0.23 = $4.14
Alternatively, you could simply multiply $0.138 (the price to power your fan per day) by 30:
$0.138 x 30 = $4.14
So you’ll end up paying just over $4 per month to run your ceiling fan.
The cost of running your ceiling fan is subject to change based on many different factors. Keep in mind, though, that our calculations are for a single ceiling fan at the national average rate of $0.23 per kWh. Residential rates for electricity range from $0.10 to $0.28 per kWh, so your actual cost can vary widely.
Did you know that you can use your ceiling fan to help save on energy costs? Now that you know ceiling fans don’t cost too much to run, let’s learn how using them in tandem with your AC and even your heating system can lower your monthly electric bills.
Remember, a ceiling fan circulates air. In the summer, this means your fan can help circulate the cool air from an AC even better.
Many modern ceiling fans have a small switch on the base that allows you to change the direction that the blades spin. In the summertime, your fan should be running in a counterclockwise direction. In the winter, turn it to run clockwise, which will push warm air down from the ceiling and help it circulate around the room.
Whenever you leave a room, no matter the season, turn off the ceiling fan to conserve energy. You don’t want to spend money heating or cooling a room with a fan if there’s no one in it.
Keep in mind that newer fans will run more efficiently, particularly those marked with the ENERGY STAR® label, which run even more efficiently than regular models. If you find that your ceiling fans aren’t working like they used to and your electric bills are climbing, it might be time to seek a more energy-efficient replacement.
