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How Much Does It Cost to Run a Ceiling Fan in New York? (2026)

Ceiling fans do not cool the air, they cool people through air movement. At 15 to 90 watts they cost a tiny fraction of an air conditioner, which is why the best strategy is to run both and raise the AC thermostat.

A typical ceiling fan (50 W) costs $0.014 per hour, or about $3.48 per month at 8 hours a day in New York. Cheap to run

Electricity price region Hours used per day

Wattage	Per hour	Per day	Per month	Per year
Low (15 W)	$0.004	$0.035	$1.04	$12.70
Typical (50 W)	$0.014	$0.12	$3.48	$42.34
High (90 W)	$0.026	$0.21	$6.26	$76.21

Formula: watts ÷ 1000 × hours × price per kWh. Typical use is 8 h/day ≈ 146 kWh per year.

In New York, with electricity at $0.29 per kWh (source: EIA Table 5.6.A, 2026-06), a typical ceiling fan costs $0.014 per hour and about $42.34 per year at 8 hours a day. That is about 61% more than the US national average of $2.16 per month, because electricity in New York costs $0.29 per kWh against $0.18 nationally. Each $1.00 of electricity buys roughly 69.0 hours of use.

How to lower the cost of running a ceiling fan

Turn the fan off when you leave the room. It only helps if someone is there to feel the breeze.
Set the blades to spin counterclockwise in summer and clockwise at low speed in winter.
DC motor fans use about 70 percent less power than older AC motor models.
Fans with built-in lights add 10 to 40 watts when the light is on.

Frequently asked questions

How much does it cost to run a ceiling fan all day?

A 50 watt fan on for 24 hours uses 1.2 kWh, about the same as a window AC unit running for one hour.

Does a ceiling fan use more electricity on high?

Yes, roughly three times more than on low, but still far less than any cooling appliance.

Is it cheaper to run a fan or an AC?

A fan, by a factor of 10 to 30. But a fan cannot lower the room temperature.

Cost by region

Related appliances

Use the generic electricity cost calculator →