Cost to run an electric blanket
An electric blanket drawing 100 W costs 2.63p for each hour of running at 26.32p/kWh. Used 3 hours a day, 5 days a week, that comes to £1.72 a month.
An hour of running costs
2.63p an hour
That is 0.1 kWh. Used as set, it comes to £1.72 a month and £20.59 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 | 2.63p | 0.1 kWh | 22 g |
| A day, on average | 5.64p | 0.21 kWh | 47 g |
| A month | £1.72 | 6.52 kWh | 1.4 kg |
| A year | £20.59 | 78.2 kWh | 17 kg |
How we calculated this
Energy is power multiplied by time: 100 W running for an hour uses 0.1 kWh.
The typical figure is Virginia Tech’s rating for a double blanket. It sits between its rating for a single blanket, which is the low figure, and the higher rating Centre for Sustainable Energy gives for a heating blanket.
The starting use for an electric blanket, 3 hours a day, 5 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
An electric blanket warms you and the bed instead of the whole room, which is why it can cost far less than a room heater to keep you warm at night. Drawing 100 W, it costs 2.63p an hour at its highest setting.
Also called: heated blanket, heating blanket, electric underblanket.
What it costs in the UK, Europe and the US
For an electric blanket used as typical (3 hours a day, 5 days a week), at each country’s published average electricity price.
| Country | Electricity price | An hour |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 26.32p/kWh | 2.63p |
| United States (average) | 18.19¢/kWh | 1.82¢ |
| Ireland | €0.4042/kWh | €0.04 |
| Germany | 0,3869 €/kWh | 0,039 € |
| France | 0,2561 €/kWh | 0,026 € |
| Spain | 0,2669 €/kWh | 0,027 € |
| Italy | 0,2966 €/kWh | 0,03 € |
| Netherlands | € 0,2558/kWh | € 0,026 |
Compared with similar appliances
Every electric heater here turns each kWh it uses into a kWh of heat, so at 26.32p/kWh a kWh of heat costs the same whichever you run. A more powerful heater costs more an hour because it gives out more heat, not because it wastes any. Only a heat pump gets more heat from a kWh, because it moves heat in from outside rather than making it.
| Appliance | Typical power | An hour | A year, typical use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electric blanket | 100 W | 2.63p | £20.59 |
| Space heater | 2,500 W | 65.8p | £548.96 |
| Oil-filled radiator | 2,000 W | 52.6p | £548.96 |
How to spend less on it
- Warm the bed before you get in, then switch it off or turn it down. Follow the maker’s instructions on whether it is meant to be left on overnight.
- Use the lower settings once the bed is warm: the blanket then draws less than its rating.
Questions
How much does an electric blanket cost to run per hour?
At 26.32p/kWh, an electric blanket drawing 100 W costs 2.63p for every hour of running at full power.
How much does an electric blanket cost to run a year?
Used 3 hours a day, 5 days a week, it costs about £20.59 a year at 26.32p/kWh, or £1.72 a month.
How many watts does an electric blanket use?
Most draw between 60 W and 150 W while running, and 100 W is typical. The rating is on the label or in the manual.
Is an electric blanket cheaper than heating the bedroom?
Usually, yes: it heats the bed rather than the room, and drawing 100 W it costs 2.63p an hour against a room heater that draws several times more. You stay warm at a fraction of the cost, though the room itself stays cold.
Sources
- ENERGY SERIES: Estimating Appliance and Home Electronic Energy Use, Virginia Cooperative Extension, Virginia Tech, 26 February 2020. “Electric blanket- Single/Double = 60/100”
- How much electricity am I using?, Centre for Sustainable Energy, July 2026. “Heating blanket (150 W)”
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