Cost to run a ceiling fan
A ceiling fan drawing 17.3 W costs 0.46p for each hour of running at 26.32p/kWh. Used 6 hours a day, 4 days a week, that comes to 59.1p a month.
An hour of running costs
0.46p an hour
That is 0.017 kWh. Used as set, it comes to 59.1p a month and £7.09 a year.
On the label or in the manual.
Standby, thermostats and off-peak use
A thermostat switches it on and off to hold a temperature. 100% if it runs flat out.
Drawn while plugged in and not running.
| Period | Cost | Energy | CO2e |
|---|---|---|---|
| An hour of running | 0.46p | 0.017 kWh | 3.8 g |
| A day, on average | 1.94p | 0.074 kWh | 16 g |
| A month | 59.1p | 2.24 kWh | 488 g |
| A year | £7.09 | 26.9 kWh | 5.9 kg |
How we calculated this
Energy is power multiplied by time: 17.3 W running for an hour uses 0.017 kWh.
Standby is counted for every hour it is plugged in and not running, on days it is used and days it is not.
The figures are for ENERGY STAR certified models sold in the US and Canada. Certified models are more efficient than the average model on sale, and many are larger than the ones sold in Europe, so an older or less efficient one will use more. The low and high figures are the median power at a certified fan’s lowest and highest speeds, and the typical figure is halfway between them, a middle speed. Older ceiling fans with AC motors draw several times more, as Virginia Tech’s table shows. The standby figure is what the fan’s receiver draws while it is switched off at the remote.
The starting use for a ceiling fan, 6 hours a day, 4 days a week, is where the calculator starts, not a measurement of your home: change it to how you use yours. A day is the average across the week, and a month is a twelfth of a 365-day year.
Electricity costs 26.32p/kWh. That is the published figure for the United Kingdom, 1 Oct – 31 Dec 2026, from Ofgem. Average for England, Scotland and Wales, paying by Direct Debit. No VAT on electricity from 1 October 2026 to 31 March 2027.
Standing charges are left out: you pay them whether or not the appliance runs.
Emissions use 0.217 kg CO2e per kWh, the lifecycle intensity of electricity generated in the United Kingdom in 2025, from Ember, via Our World in Data. Lifecycle means building the power stations and supplying their fuel are counted too. It is the grid’s average, not the particular power station an extra appliance brings on.
What drives the cost
A ceiling fan moves air across you so you feel cooler, without cooling the room itself. A certified fan draws 3.4 W on its lowest speed and 31.3 W on its highest, so at a middle speed it draws 17.3 W and costs 0.46p an hour, a small fraction of what an air conditioner costs.
Also called: overhead fan.
What it costs in the UK, Europe and the US
For a ceiling fan used as typical (6 hours a day, 4 days a week), at each country’s published average electricity price.
| Country | Electricity price | An hour |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 26.32p/kWh | 0.46p |
| United States (average) | 18.19¢/kWh | 0.32¢ |
| Ireland | €0.4042/kWh | €0.007 |
| Germany | 0,3869 €/kWh | 0,0067 € |
| France | 0,2561 €/kWh | 0,0044 € |
| Spain | 0,2669 €/kWh | 0,0046 € |
| Italy | 0,2966 €/kWh | 0,0051 € |
| Netherlands | € 0,2558/kWh | € 0,0044 |
Compared with similar appliances
| Appliance | Typical power | An hour | A year, typical use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ceiling fan | 17.3 W | 0.46p | £7.09 |
| Window fan | 152.5 W | 4.01p | £66.97 |
| Window air conditioner | 666.7 W | 17.5p | £219.59 |
| Dehumidifier | 500 W | 13.2p | £288.20 |
How to spend less on it
- Turn it off when you leave the room: it cools people, not rooms, so it does nothing for an empty one.
- Use the lower speeds when you can: a fan on a lower setting draws far less than on its highest.
- Pair it with closed curtains on the sunny side of the house, which keeps the heat in the room out in the first place.
Questions
How much does a ceiling fan cost to run per hour?
At 26.32p/kWh, a ceiling fan drawing 17.3 W costs 0.46p for every hour of running at full power.
How much does a ceiling fan cost to run a year?
Used 6 hours a day, 4 days a week, it costs about £7.09 a year at 26.32p/kWh, or 59.1p a month.
How many watts does a ceiling fan use?
Most draw between 3.4 W and 31.3 W while running, and 17.3 W is typical. The rating is on the label or in the manual.
Does a ceiling fan cool a room?
It does not lower the temperature; it moves air over your skin so you feel cooler. That is why leaving one running in an empty room costs 0.46p an hour for no benefit.
Does it use much on a low speed?
Very little: the median certified fan draws 3.4 W on its lowest speed, so an hour costs a fraction of a penny or cent at most.
Sources
- ENERGY STAR Certified Ceiling Fans (open data), ENERGY STAR, US Environmental Protection Agency, 26 September 2026. “ENERGY STAR certified ceiling fans, power at high speed: median 31.3 W across 726 certified models, 10th to 90th percentile 20.3 W to 45.5 W (models where product_type='Standard Fan Only').”
- ENERGY STAR Certified Ceiling Fans (open data), ENERGY STAR, US Environmental Protection Agency, 26 September 2026. “ENERGY STAR certified ceiling fans, power at low speed: median 3.4 W across 703 certified models, 10th to 90th percentile 1.52 W to 10.4 W (models where product_type='Standard Fan Only').”
- ENERGY SERIES: Estimating Appliance and Home Electronic Energy Use, Virginia Cooperative Extension, Virginia Tech, 26 February 2020. “Fans Ceiling = 65–175”
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