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.

Where the electricity goes

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.

Through the day

What drives this household's bill

• The largest share here is tv, computing & network at 29% (€407.74 a year), followed by other appliances at 26%.
• Laundry runs every day: a load a day with half of them through the dryer is the habit a family has that smaller households do not.
• 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 or more hours than the appliance can realistically run. 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.

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The same household in other countries

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.

Compare this household

• Single person in an apartment vs Family of four in a house
• Family of four in a house vs All-electric family house
• Family of four in a house vs Family of five or more in a house
• Student house share vs Family of four in a house

Other households in Germany

• Single person in an apartment1,200 kWh/yr
• Couple in an apartment1,900 kWh/yr
• Couple in a house2,700 kWh/yr
• Family of five or more in a house4,500 kWh/yr
• Student house share3,100 kWh/yr
• All-electric family house4,700 kWh/yr
• Retired couple at home all day2,700 kWh/yr

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