How much does a fan heater cost to run?
About 53p an hour in the UK and 28¢ an hour in the US. A fan heater draws about 2,000 W (1,500 W on a US supply) for as long as it is on. No thermal mass, so no cycling: it draws full power the whole time it is on.
What it costs, by how long it runs
| Running for | kWh (UK) | UK | US |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 minutes | 0.33 | 8.8p | 4.6¢ |
| An hour | 2 | 53p | 28¢ |
| An 8-hour night | 16 | £4.21 | $2.20 |
| A full day (24 hours) | 48 | £12.63 | $6.60 |
| A month at 8 hours a day | 480 | £126.34 | $66.02 |
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.
A cheaper way to stay warm
Heating the person costs a fraction of heating the room. An electric blanket costs about 0.55p an hour, against 53p for a fan heater.
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 a fan heater, and for how long.
Appliance draw modelled on energysavingtrust.org.uk.
Did this match what you measured?
Nothing is sent anywhere unless analytics is switched on, and no text is collected.