What any appliance costs to run at Irish electricity rates. Pick a preset or enter the wattage, add your tariff, and see the cost per hour, month and winter.
The sum behind every running cost is the same: watts divided by 1,000, times the hours it runs, times your rate in cent per kWh.
This calculator does it for you, with presets for the appliances we cover on RainyDay.ie and room for anything else.
Appliance running cost calculator
Cost = watts ÷ 1,000 × hours × rate. October to March assumes 182 days at your daily hours.
Cost per hour at Irish rates
| Air purifier, medium (40W) | 1.4c at 36.06c, 0.6c at 15.37c |
| Electric blanket (60W) | 2.2c at 36.06c, 0.9c at 15.37c |
| Compressor dehumidifier (150W) | 5.4c at 36.06c, 2.3c at 15.37c |
| Heated airer (230W) | 8.3c at 36.06c, 3.5c at 15.37c |
| Desiccant dehumidifier, low (330W) | 11.9c at 36.06c, 5.1c at 15.37c |
| Fan drying pod (850W) | 30.7c at 36.06c, 13.1c at 15.37c |
| Electric heater or tumble dryer (2,000W) | 72.1c at 36.06c, 30.7c at 15.37c |
Finding the wattage
Every appliance has a rating plate, usually on the back or the base. Look for a figure in W or kW; 1kW is 1,000W.
If it shows a range, such as 1,800W to 2,200W, use the higher figure for a worst case.
Two things make real costs lower than the calculator shows:
- Thermostats and humidity settings. Heaters, dehumidifiers and anything else that switches off once it reaches a target only draws full power part of the time.
- Variable power. Many modern appliances throttle back once they've done the hard work. The calculator assumes full power throughout.
Finding your rate
Your bill shows your unit rate in cent per kWh, sometimes before VAT. Electricity is charged 9% VAT in Ireland, so multiply a before-VAT rate by 1.09 to get the figure to enter.
If you have a day/night meter, you'll see two rates; use the night rate for anything you can run on a timer.
The calculator's typical standard rate of 36.06c/kWh is the average Irish unit rate for September 2026. The night rate of 15.37c is Energia's 14.10c plus VAT. We recheck both every quarter.
Two cheap wins
Put a 2kW heater into the calculator and you’ll see why this exists. A heated throw warms you rather than the room for a small fraction of the cost, with an auto shut-off so you can doze under it.
One of the lowest-wattage dehumidifiers on sale, at 5.4c an hour in a heated room. It switches off once the room reaches the humidity you set, so it costs less than the calculator shows.
More detailed calculators
For the appliances people ask about most, we have calculators with extra options and comparisons:
- Dehumidifier running cost
- Heated airer running cost
- Tumble dryer cost per load
- Which electric heater is cheapest to run
If you're choosing a dehumidifier on running cost, read desiccant vs compressor first: the type matters far more than the size.
Irish readers have more reason than most to check. Eurostat's figures put Irish household electricity prices at the top of the EU in the second half of 2025.