How much does an electric breast pump cost to run?
About 0.63p an hour in the UK and 0.44¢ an hour in the US. An electric breast pump draws about 24 W for as long as it is on. Small motor, short sessions; almost any station will do many days of pumping.
What it costs, by how long it runs
| Running for | kWh | UK | US |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 minutes | 0.004 | 0.11p | 0.07¢ |
| An hour | 0.024 | 0.63p | 0.44¢ |
| An 8-hour night | 0.19 | 5.1p | 3.5¢ |
| A full day (24 hours) | 0.58 | 15p | 11¢ |
| A month at 8 hours a day | 5.76 | £1.52 | $1.06 |
UK prices use the Ofgem price cap for 1 October to 31 December 2026 (direct debit, average across England, Scotland and Wales, with no VAT on electricity this winter): 26.32p per kWh (Ofgem). The standing charge of 54.83p a day is paid whatever you run, so it is left out. US prices use the US average residential price for June 2026 from the Energy Information Administration: 18.34¢ per kWh (EIA). Your own tariff is on your bill; scale the figures by it.
Measure your own
These are typical figures for a typical unit. A plug-in energy monitor between the socket and the appliance shows the real watts and adds up the kWh, so after a day or a week you know exactly what it costs on your tariff.
Compared with similar appliances
| Appliance | Average W | UK per hour | US per hour |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medication fridge (insulin) | 14 | 0.36p | 0.25¢ |
| Electric breast pump | 24 | 0.63p | 0.44¢ |
| CPAP (no humidifier) | 30 | 0.79p | 0.55¢ |
| BiPAP / VPAP | 45 | 1.2p | 0.83¢ |
| CPAP with heated humidifier | 51 | 1.3p | 0.94¢ |
| Nebuliser | 130 | 3.4p | 2.4¢ |
| Mobility scooter charger | 180 | 4.7p | 3.3¢ |
| Electric wheelchair charger | 200 | 5.3p | 3.7¢ |
| Oxygen concentrator (5 L/min) | 350 | 9.2p | 6.4¢ |
Running it in a power cut
See which power station will run an electric breast pump, and for how long.
Appliance draw modelled on www.spectrababyusa.com. Spectra rates the mains adapter for its S1, S2 and Synergy Gold pumps at 12 V, 2 A, which is 24 W. That is the most the adapter can supply, so the pump itself usually draws less and these figures are an upper bound.
Did this match what you measured?
Nothing is sent anywhere unless analytics is switched on, and no text is collected.