How much does an electric blanket cost to run?
About 0.55p an hour in the UK and 0.39¢ an hour in the US. An electric blanket draws about 60 W for roughly 35% of the time it is switched on, so it averages 21 W. Thermostatic, so it is on for about a third of the night — one of the few heating loads a battery handles gracefully.
What it costs, by how long it runs
| Running for | kWh | UK | US |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 minutes | 0.004 | 0.09p | 0.06¢ |
| An hour | 0.021 | 0.55p | 0.39¢ |
| An 8-hour night | 0.17 | 4.4p | 3.1¢ |
| A full day (24 hours) | 0.5 | 13p | 9.2¢ |
| A month at 8 hours a day | 5.04 | £1.33 | 92¢ |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electric blanket | 21 | 0.55p | 0.39¢ |
| Heated throw | 40 | 1.1p | 0.73¢ |
| Gas combi boiler (its electrics) | 51 | 1.3p | 0.94¢ |
| Gas furnace (blower and controls) | 300 | 7.9p | 5.5¢ |
| Space heater, 750 W | 750 | 20p | 14¢ |
| Oil-filled radiator | 900 | 24p | 17¢ |
| Space heater, 1,500 W | 1,500 | 39p | 28¢ |
| Space heater, 2,000 W | 2,000 | 53p | 37¢ |
| Fan heater | 2,000 | 53p | 28¢ |
Running it in a power cut
See which power station will run an electric blanket, and for how long.
Appliance draw modelled on energysavingtrust.org.uk.
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