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Electricity Bill for a Family of four in a house in Germany (2026)
Two adults and two children in a house. Laundry every day, the dishwasher every night, the oven several times a week, and screens in most rooms. This is the profile most regulators use as the reference household.
A family of four in a house uses about 3,800 kWh of electricity a year. At Germany prices of €0.37 per kWh (source: BDEW Strompreisanalyse August 2026, 2026-08), that is €117.17 per month, or €1,406 per year.
Benchmark: Stromspiegel für Deutschland (co2online, with the Federal Ministry for the Environment), average consumption by persons and building type: 4 persons, house. Data as of 2024. It covers appliances and lighting; 'with hot water' variants add electric water heating; electric space heating is excluded.
Where the electricity goes
- TV, computing & network 29%
- Other appliances 26%
- Washing, drying & dishwashing 13%
- Lighting 12%
- Refrigeration & freezing 10%
- Cooking 10%
| End use | Per year | Cost | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Refrigeration & freezing | 380 kWh | €140.60 | 10% |
| Cooking | 380 kWh | €140.60 | 10% |
| Washing, drying & dishwashing | 494 kWh | €182.78 | 13% |
| TV, computing & network | 1,102 kWh | €407.74 | 29% |
| Lighting | 456 kWh | €168.72 | 12% |
| Other appliances | 988 kWh | €365.56 | 26% |
End-use shares: BDEW / Stromspiegel 2025: information & communication technology 29%, washing & drying 13%, lighting 12%, refrigeration 10%, cooking about 10%, remainder other. Electric hot water, where present, is the difference between the with- and without-hot-water Stromspiegel values. These shares are official. This benchmark excludes heating & cooling and water heating, which are on gas or counted separately in this country's statistics.
What drives this household's bill
- Laundry is the big one: washing daily and drying half the loads is a fifth of the appliance total.
- Children's devices, consoles and a second TV push entertainment well above a couple's.
- Cooking for four means the oven runs most days; batch cooking and the air fryer are the savings.
Appliance by appliance
Each end-use bucket above is spread over this household's appliances in proportion to their typical use, never at more than twice that use. What the listed appliances cannot account for appears as "not listed" rows, so the table still adds up to the official figures. Hours are implied, not measured.
| Appliance | End use | Typical | Hours/day | Per year | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LED Light Bulb ×18 | Lighting | 9 W | 5.6 h | 333 kWh | €123.12 |
| Desktop Computer | TV, computing & network | 150 W | 6.0 h | 330 kWh | €121.99 |
| Clothes Dryer | Washing, drying & dishwashing | 3,000 W | 15 min | 282 kWh | €104.45 |
| Refrigerator | Refrigeration & freezing | 150 W | 4.2 h | 228 kWh | €84.36 |
| Television ×2 | TV, computing & network | 100 W | 3.0 h | 220 kWh | €81.32 |
| Laptop ×2 | TV, computing & network | 45 W | 6.0 h | 198 kWh | €73.19 |
| Hair Dryer ×2 | Other appliances | 1,800 W | 9 min | 197 kWh | €72.93 |
| Chest Freezer | Refrigeration & freezing | 100 W | 4.2 h | 152 kWh | €56.24 |
| Gaming Console (PS5, Xbox) | TV, computing & network | 180 W | 2.3 h | 148 kWh | €54.89 |
| Dishwasher | Washing, drying & dishwashing | 1,500 W | 15 min | 141 kWh | €52.22 |
| Induction Cooktop ×1.5 | Cooking | 1,800 W | 8 min | 135 kWh | €50.11 |
| Electric Oven | Cooking | 2,500 W | 8 min | 125 kWh | €46.40 |
| Outdoor Security Floodlight | Lighting | 30 W | 11.3 h | 123 kWh | €45.60 |
| Vacuum Cleaner | Other appliances | 1,000 W | 15 min | 91 kWh | €33.76 |
| Washing Machine ×1.5 | Washing, drying & dishwashing | 500 W | 15 min | 71 kWh | €26.11 |
| Computer Monitor | TV, computing & network | 30 W | 6.0 h | 66 kWh | €24.40 |
| Wi-Fi Router | TV, computing & network | 10 W | 18.1 h | 66 kWh | €24.40 |
| Electric Lawn Mower (Corded or Battery) | Other appliances | 1,200 W | 6 min | 44 kWh | €16.21 |
| Smart Speaker ×2 | TV, computing & network | 3 W | 18.1 h | 40 kWh | €14.64 |
| Air Fryer | Cooking | 1,500 W | 4 min | 38 kWh | €13.92 |
| Electric Kettle ×2 | Cooking | 2,000 W | 1 min | 30 kWh | €11.14 |
| Coffee Maker (Drip) | Cooking | 1,000 W | 4 min | 25 kWh | €9.28 |
| Phone Charger ×4 | TV, computing & network | 10 W | 1.5 h | 22 kWh | €8.13 |
| Microwave ×1.5 | Cooking | 1,000 W | 2 min | 19 kWh | €6.96 |
| Streaming Stick or Box ×2 | TV, computing & network | 4 W | 3.0 h | 9 kWh | €3.25 |
| Toaster ×1.5 | Cooking | 1,000 W | 1 min | 8 kWh | €2.78 |
| Printer (Inkjet or Laser) | TV, computing & network | 30 W | 23 min | 4 kWh | €1.52 |
| Garage Door Opener | Other appliances | 500 W | 1 min | 4 kWh | €1.35 |
| Small appliances, standby and items not listed | Other appliances | – | – | 652 kWh | €241.31 |
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The same household in other countries
| Country | Official benchmark | Per year | Per month |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States (average) | 13,072 kWh | $2,353 | $196.08 |
| United Kingdom | 3,800 kWh | £988.00 | £82.33 |
| Germany | 3,800 kWh | €1,406 | €117.17 |
| France | 6,034 kWh | €1,207 | €100.57 |
| Australia | 7,311 kWh | A$2,559 | A$213.24 |
| Canada (average) | 12,694 kWh | C$1,777 | C$148.10 |
Each row uses that country's own regulator benchmark and average price, in local currency. Differences reflect climate, heating fuel and appliance ownership as much as price.
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