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How Much Does It Cost to Run a Electric Kettle in California? (2026)

Kettles draw a lot of power but for only a few minutes. Boiling a litre of water takes about 0.1 kWh regardless of kettle wattage; a higher wattage kettle just does it faster.

A typical electric kettle (2,000 W) costs $0.70 per hour, or about $3.15 per month at 0.15 hours a day in California. Cheap to run

Electricity price region Hours used per day

Wattage	Per hour	Per day	Per month	Per year
Low (1,500 W)	$0.52	$0.079	$2.36	$28.74
Typical (2,000 W)	$0.70	$0.10	$3.15	$38.32
High (3,000 W)	$1.05	$0.16	$4.72	$57.49

Formula: watts ÷ 1000 × hours × price per kWh. Typical use is 0.15 h/day ≈ 110 kWh per year.

In California, with electricity at $0.35 per kWh (source: EIA Table 5.6.A, 2026-06), a typical electric kettle costs $0.70 per hour and about $38.32 per year at 0.15 hours a day. That is about 94% more than the US national average of $1.62 per month, because electricity in California costs $0.35 per kWh against $0.18 nationally. Each $1.00 of electricity buys roughly 1.4 hours of use.

How to lower the cost of running a electric kettle

Boil only the water you need. Filling the kettle for one cup doubles or triples the cost.
Descale regularly. Limescale on the element slows heating.
A kettle with a keep-warm function can use more over a day than boiling twice.
Kettles are more efficient than boiling water on an electric stovetop.

Frequently asked questions

How much does it cost to boil a kettle?

About 0.1 kWh per litre. A full 1.7 litre kettle uses roughly 0.17 kWh.

Is a 3,000 W kettle more expensive to run than a 2,000 W one?

No. It uses the same energy to boil the same water, just in less time.

Is it cheaper to boil water in a microwave?

No. Kettles are generally more efficient for boiling water than microwaves.

Compare with

Microwave vs Electric Kettle

Cost by region

Related appliances

Use the generic electricity cost calculator →