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Electricity Bill for a Family of four in a house in France (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 6,034 kWh of electricity a year. At France prices of €0.20 per kWh (source: EDF Tarif Bleu, 2026-08), that is €100.57 per month, or €1,207 per year.
Benchmark: France publishes no figure by household type. This is the Enedis national average of 4,287 kWh scaled by the German Stromspiegel ratio for this household type (3,800 ÷ 2,700). Data as of 2024. It covers average over all 32 million residential sites, about 12 million of which are electrically heated; no official split by household size exists.
Where the electricity goes
- Heating & cooling 31%
- Water heating 15%
- Refrigeration & freezing 14%
- Other appliances 12%
- TV, computing & network 11%
- Cooking 7%
- Washing, drying & dishwashing 6%
- Lighting 3%
| End use | Per year | Cost | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heating & cooling | 1,871 kWh | €374.11 | 31% |
| Water heating | 923 kWh | €184.64 | 15% |
| Refrigeration & freezing | 851 kWh | €170.16 | 14% |
| Cooking | 434 kWh | €86.89 | 7% |
| Washing, drying & dishwashing | 362 kWh | €72.41 | 6% |
| TV, computing & network | 658 kWh | €131.54 | 11% |
| Lighting | 187 kWh | €37.41 | 3% |
| Other appliances | 748 kWh | €149.64 | 12% |
End-use shares: ADEME Panel Elecdom, année 4 (2023), share of total household electricity: chauffage 26.3% + auxiliaires 1.8% + ventilation 2.9%, eau chaude 15.3%, froid 14.1%, cuisine 7.2%, audiovisuel 6.3% + informatique 4.6%, lavage/séchage 6.0%, éclairage 3.1%, other (extérieur, mobilité, divers) 12.4%. These shares are official.
Through the day
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Refrigerator | Refrigeration & freezing | 150 W | 9.3 h | 510 kWh | €102.10 |
| Chest Freezer | Refrigeration & freezing | 100 W | 9.3 h | 340 kWh | €68.06 |
| Clothes Dryer | Washing, drying & dishwashing | 3,000 W | 11 min | 207 kWh | €41.38 |
| Hair Dryer ×2 | Other appliances | 1,800 W | 9 min | 197 kWh | €39.42 |
| Desktop Computer | TV, computing & network | 150 W | 3.6 h | 197 kWh | €39.35 |
| Induction Cooktop ×1.5 | Cooking | 1,800 W | 9 min | 155 kWh | €30.97 |
| Electric Oven | Cooking | 2,500 W | 9 min | 143 kWh | €28.68 |
| LED Light Bulb ×18 | Lighting | 9 W | 2.3 h | 136 kWh | €27.30 |
| Television ×2 | TV, computing & network | 100 W | 1.8 h | 131 kWh | €26.24 |
| Laptop ×2 | TV, computing & network | 45 W | 3.6 h | 118 kWh | €23.61 |
| Dishwasher | Washing, drying & dishwashing | 1,500 W | 11 min | 103 kWh | €20.69 |
| Vacuum Cleaner | Other appliances | 1,000 W | 15 min | 91 kWh | €18.25 |
| Gaming Console (PS5, Xbox) | TV, computing & network | 180 W | 1.3 h | 89 kWh | €17.71 |
| Washing Machine ×1.5 | Washing, drying & dishwashing | 500 W | 11 min | 52 kWh | €10.34 |
| Outdoor Security Floodlight | Lighting | 30 W | 4.6 h | 51 kWh | €10.11 |
| Electric Lawn Mower (Corded or Battery) | Other appliances | 1,200 W | 6 min | 44 kWh | €8.76 |
| Air Fryer | Cooking | 1,500 W | 5 min | 43 kWh | €8.60 |
| Computer Monitor | TV, computing & network | 30 W | 3.6 h | 39 kWh | €7.87 |
| Wi-Fi Router | TV, computing & network | 10 W | 10.8 h | 39 kWh | €7.87 |
| Electric Kettle ×2 | Cooking | 2,000 W | 1 min | 34 kWh | €6.88 |
| Coffee Maker (Drip) | Cooking | 1,000 W | 5 min | 29 kWh | €5.74 |
| Smart Speaker ×2 | TV, computing & network | 3 W | 10.8 h | 24 kWh | €4.72 |
| Microwave ×1.5 | Cooking | 1,000 W | 2 min | 22 kWh | €4.30 |
| Phone Charger ×4 | TV, computing & network | 10 W | 54 min | 13 kWh | €2.62 |
| Toaster ×1.5 | Cooking | 1,000 W | 1 min | 9 kWh | €1.72 |
| Streaming Stick or Box ×2 | TV, computing & network | 4 W | 1.8 h | 5 kWh | €1.05 |
| Garage Door Opener | Other appliances | 500 W | 1 min | 4 kWh | €0.73 |
| Printer (Inkjet or Laser) | TV, computing & network | 30 W | 13 min | 2 kWh | €0.49 |
| Small appliances, standby and items not listed | Other appliances | – | – | 412 kWh | €82.48 |
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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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