Cost to run a hair dryer
Each 10 minutes use of a hair dryer drawing 2,000 W costs 8.77p at 26.32p/kWh. Used 1 use a day of 10 minutes, every day, that comes to £2.67 a month.
Each use costs
8.77p a use
That is 0.33 kWh. Used as set, it comes to £2.67 a month and £32.02 a year.
On the label or in the manual.
Standby, thermostats and off-peak use
Drawn while plugged in and not running.
| Period | Cost | Energy | CO2e |
|---|---|---|---|
| A use | 8.77p | 0.33 kWh | 72 g |
| A day, on average | 8.77p | 0.33 kWh | 72 g |
| A month | £2.67 | 10.1 kWh | 2.2 kg |
| A year | £32.02 | 122 kWh | 26.5 kg |
How we calculated this
Energy is power multiplied by time: 2,000 W for 10 minutes uses 0.33 kWh each time.
The typical and high figures are the average rating Centre for Sustainable Energy gives for a hairdryer. The low figure is the bottom of Virginia Tech’s nameplate range, which tops out just below it.
The starting use for a hair dryer, 1 use a day of 10 minutes, every day, 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 hair dryer is a heating element and a fan, so it draws 2,000 W while it runs. A use of 10 minutes uses 0.33 kWh and costs 8.77p, which is small each time and adds up if it is daily.
Also called: hairdryer, blow dryer.
What it costs in the UK, Europe and the US
For a hair dryer used as typical (1 use a day of 10 minutes, every day), at each country’s published average electricity price.
| Country | Electricity price | A use |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 26.32p/kWh | 8.77p |
| United States (average) | 18.19¢/kWh | 6.06¢ |
| Ireland | €0.4042/kWh | €0.13 |
| Germany | 0,3869 €/kWh | 0,13 € |
| France | 0,2561 €/kWh | 0,085 € |
| Spain | 0,2669 €/kWh | 0,089 € |
| Italy | 0,2966 €/kWh | 0,099 € |
| Netherlands | € 0,2558/kWh | € 0,085 |
Compared with similar appliances
| Appliance | Typical power | An hour | A year, typical use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hair dryer | 2,000 W | 52.6p | £32.02 |
| Clothes iron | 1,500 W | 39.5p | £20.59 |
| Vacuum cleaner | 900 W | 23.7p | £18.53 |
How to spend less on it
- Towel-dry first: the drier your hair is when the dryer comes out, the fewer minutes it has to run.
- Use the lower heat or speed setting if you have one: a hair dryer on a lower setting draws less than its rating.
Questions
How much does a hair dryer cost to run per hour?
At 26.32p/kWh, a hair dryer drawing 2,000 W costs 52.6p for every hour of running at full power.
How much does a hair dryer cost to run a year?
Used 1 use a day of 10 minutes, every day, it costs about £32.02 a year at 26.32p/kWh, or £2.67 a month.
How many watts does a hair dryer use?
Most draw between 1,200 W and 2,000 W while running, and 2,000 W is typical. The rating is on the label or in the manual.
How much does it cost to dry your hair?
A use of 10 minutes costs 8.77p at 26.32p/kWh. Used 1 use a day of 10 minutes, every day, that is £32.02 a year.
Sources
- How much electricity am I using?, Centre for Sustainable Energy, July 2026. “Hairdryer (2000 W)”
- ENERGY SERIES: Estimating Appliance and Home Electronic Energy Use, Virginia Cooperative Extension, Virginia Tech, 26 February 2020. “Hair dryer = 1200–1875”
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