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Electricity Bill for a Retired couple at home all day in Nova Scotia (2026)
Two people at home most of the day. The TV, kettle and lights run for many more hours than in a working household, and the house is kept warmer.
A retired couple at home all day uses about 10,750 kWh of electricity a year. At Nova Scotia prices of C$0.20 per kWh (source: Hydro-Québec 2025 comparison, 2025-04), that is C$179.17 per month, or C$2,150 per year.
Benchmark: Natural Resources Canada, Survey of Household Energy Use 2019, Table 3.5a electricity intensity per household (GJ converted at 277.78 kWh/GJ): Row, duplex or semi-detached. Data as of 2019. It covers all electricity use; electric heating is common in Quebec, Manitoba and Atlantic Canada, which is why those averages are high. The consumption benchmark is national (Canada); Nova Scotia differs from it mainly through climate and price, and the price is what changes the figure below.
Where the electricity goes
- Heating & cooling 35%
- Other appliances 19%
- Water heating 15%
- Refrigeration & freezing 10%
- Washing, drying & dishwashing 6%
- TV, computing & network 6%
- Lighting 6%
- Cooking 3%
| End use | Per year | Cost | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heating & cooling | 3,762 kWh | C$752.50 | 35% |
| Water heating | 1,612 kWh | C$322.50 | 15% |
| Refrigeration & freezing | 1,075 kWh | C$215.00 | 10% |
| Cooking | 322 kWh | C$64.50 | 3% |
| Washing, drying & dishwashing | 645 kWh | C$129.00 | 6% |
| TV, computing & network | 645 kWh | C$129.00 | 6% |
| Lighting | 645 kWh | C$129.00 | 6% |
| Other appliances | 2,042 kWh | C$408.50 | 19% |
End-use shares: Derived. NRCan publishes residential end-use shares for all fuels (space heating 59%, water heating 19%, appliances 14%, lighting 4%, cooling 3%, 2023) but not for electricity alone; electricity shares here are an approximation that treats roughly half of Canadian homes as electrically heated. Some of these shares are derived rather than published; see the note.
What drives this household's bill
- Hours, not devices, drive this profile: a TV on for eight hours costs as much as a family's console habit.
- Daytime heating in winter is the largest cost if it is electric.
- An electric blanket and a heated throw are far cheaper than heating the room in the evening.
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 | 14.7 h | 806 kWh | C$161.25 |
| Electric Blanket ×2 | Other appliances | 100 W | 8.0 h | 584 kWh | C$116.80 |
| LED Light Bulb ×14 | Lighting | 9 W | 9.5 h | 437 kWh | C$87.39 |
| Television ×2.5 | TV, computing & network | 100 W | 4.3 h | 393 kWh | C$78.66 |
| Clothes Dryer ×0.5 | Washing, drying & dishwashing | 3,000 W | 37 min | 334 kWh | C$66.72 |
| Chest Freezer ×0.5 | Refrigeration & freezing | 100 W | 14.7 h | 269 kWh | C$53.75 |
| Dishwasher ×0.7 | Washing, drying & dishwashing | 1,500 W | 37 min | 234 kWh | C$46.71 |
| Outdoor Security Floodlight | Lighting | 30 W | 19.0 h | 208 kWh | C$41.61 |
| Laptop | TV, computing & network | 45 W | 8.6 h | 142 kWh | C$28.32 |
| Induction Cooktop ×1.5 | Cooking | 1,800 W | 6 min | 102 kWh | C$20.37 |
| Electric Oven | Cooking | 2,500 W | 6 min | 94 kWh | C$18.86 |
| Vacuum Cleaner | Other appliances | 1,000 W | 15 min | 91 kWh | C$18.25 |
| Wi-Fi Router | TV, computing & network | 10 W | 24.0 h | 88 kWh | C$17.52 |
| Washing Machine ×0.7 | Washing, drying & dishwashing | 500 W | 37 min | 78 kWh | C$15.57 |
| Slow Cooker | Cooking | 200 W | 50 min | 60 kWh | C$12.07 |
| Electric Lawn Mower (Corded or Battery) | Other appliances | 1,200 W | 6 min | 44 kWh | C$8.76 |
| Electric Kettle ×3 | Cooking | 2,000 W | 1 min | 34 kWh | C$6.79 |
| Coffee Maker (Drip) | Cooking | 1,000 W | 3 min | 19 kWh | C$3.77 |
| Phone Charger ×2 | TV, computing & network | 10 W | 2.2 h | 16 kWh | C$3.15 |
| Microwave | Cooking | 1,000 W | 2 min | 9 kWh | C$1.89 |
| Toaster | Cooking | 1,000 W | 1 min | 4 kWh | C$0.75 |
| Garage Door Opener | Other appliances | 500 W | 1 min | 4 kWh | C$0.73 |
| Small appliances, standby and items not listed | Other appliances | – | – | 1,320 kWh | C$263.96 |
| Other screens, chargers, standby | TV, computing & network | – | – | 7 kWh | C$1.36 |
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The same household in other countries
| Country | Official benchmark | Per year | Per month |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States (average) | 10,648 kWh | $1,917 | $159.72 |
| United Kingdom | 2,500 kWh | £650.00 | £54.17 |
| Germany | 2,700 kWh | €999.00 | €83.25 |
| France | 4,287 kWh | €857.40 | €71.45 |
| Australia | 5,237 kWh | A$1,833 | A$152.75 |
| Canada (average) | 10,750 kWh | C$1,505 | C$125.42 |
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.