Home Compare Home Projector vs Television: Which Costs More to Run? (2026)
A lamp projector uses two to four times the electricity of a large TV for a similar viewing experience. A 100 inch image from a 300 watt projector costs about the same to run as three 65 inch TVs. LED and laser projectors narrow the gap. For daily viewing the TV is cheaper; for occasional movie nights the projector's cost is small in absolute terms.
At the hours shown, Home Projector costs about
$33.47 a year and Television about
$26.78 in the US .
Electricity price region United States (average) – 18.3¢/kWh Canada (average) – 14.0¢/kWh United Kingdom – 26.3p/kWh Germany – €0.370/kWh France – €0.200/kWh Australia – 35.0¢/kWh India – ₹6.00/kWh Alabama – 16.4¢/kWh Alaska – 28.2¢/kWh Arizona – 15.2¢/kWh Arkansas – 14.1¢/kWh California – 34.7¢/kWh Colorado – 17.1¢/kWh Connecticut – 24.3¢/kWh Delaware – 19.3¢/kWh District of Columbia – 24.4¢/kWh Florida – 15.1¢/kWh Georgia – 16.4¢/kWh Hawaii – 52.7¢/kWh Idaho – 14.4¢/kWh Illinois – 19.9¢/kWh Indiana – 17.5¢/kWh Iowa – 15.9¢/kWh Kansas – 15.7¢/kWh Kentucky – 14.3¢/kWh Louisiana – 13.5¢/kWh Maine – 29.6¢/kWh Maryland – 21.8¢/kWh Massachusetts – 29.6¢/kWh Michigan – 23.0¢/kWh Minnesota – 17.5¢/kWh Mississippi – 14.9¢/kWh Missouri – 16.2¢/kWh Montana – 15.1¢/kWh Nebraska – 13.2¢/kWh Nevada – 13.1¢/kWh New Hampshire – 27.0¢/kWh New Jersey – 24.9¢/kWh New Mexico – 15.1¢/kWh New York – 29.5¢/kWh North Carolina – 14.7¢/kWh North Dakota – 14.1¢/kWh Ohio – 19.2¢/kWh Oklahoma – 14.3¢/kWh Oregon – 16.3¢/kWh Pennsylvania – 21.7¢/kWh Rhode Island – 29.2¢/kWh South Carolina – 15.6¢/kWh South Dakota – 15.4¢/kWh Tennessee – 14.1¢/kWh Texas – 15.9¢/kWh Utah – 13.4¢/kWh Vermont – 24.4¢/kWh Virginia – 17.2¢/kWh Washington – 14.9¢/kWh West Virginia – 15.4¢/kWh Wisconsin – 19.6¢/kWh Wyoming – 15.2¢/kWh Quebec – 8.3¢/kWh Ontario – 15.0¢/kWh British Columbia – 12.6¢/kWh Alberta – 22.4¢/kWh Manitoba – 10.5¢/kWh Saskatchewan – 17.9¢/kWh Nova Scotia – 20.5¢/kWh New Brunswick – 16.6¢/kWh Prince Edward Island – 19.7¢/kWh Newfoundland and Labrador – 15.6¢/kWh Custom rate
Your price per kWh
Edit the hours to match your own use. Costs use the typical wattage of each appliance.
When the home projector makes sense You want a very large image You watch a few times a week, not all day You have a dark room When the television makes sense The screen is on for hours daily You watch in daylight You want the lowest running cost
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