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Electricity Bill for a Retired couple at home all day in France (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 4,287 kWh of electricity a year. At France prices of €0.20 per kWh (source: EDF Tarif Bleu, 2026-08), that is €71.45 per month, or €857.40 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 (2,700 ÷ 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 | 1,329 kWh | €265.79 | 31% |
| Water heating | 656 kWh | €131.18 | 15% |
| Refrigeration & freezing | 604 kWh | €120.89 | 14% |
| Cooking | 309 kWh | €61.73 | 7% |
| Washing, drying & dishwashing | 257 kWh | €51.44 | 6% |
| TV, computing & network | 467 kWh | €93.46 | 11% |
| Lighting | 133 kWh | €26.58 | 3% |
| Other appliances | 532 kWh | €106.32 | 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.
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 | 8.3 h | 453 kWh | €90.67 |
| Electric Blanket ×2 | Other appliances | 100 W | 5.9 h | 430 kWh | €85.91 |
| Television ×2.5 | TV, computing & network | 100 W | 3.1 h | 285 kWh | €56.99 |
| Chest Freezer ×0.5 | Refrigeration & freezing | 100 W | 8.3 h | 151 kWh | €30.22 |
| Clothes Dryer ×0.5 | Washing, drying & dishwashing | 3,000 W | 15 min | 133 kWh | €26.61 |
| Laptop | TV, computing & network | 45 W | 6.2 h | 103 kWh | €20.51 |
| Induction Cooktop ×1.5 | Cooking | 1,800 W | 6 min | 97 kWh | €19.49 |
| Dishwasher ×0.7 | Washing, drying & dishwashing | 1,500 W | 15 min | 93 kWh | €18.63 |
| Electric Oven | Cooking | 2,500 W | 6 min | 90 kWh | €18.05 |
| LED Light Bulb ×14 | Lighting | 9 W | 2.0 h | 90 kWh | €18.01 |
| Wi-Fi Router | TV, computing & network | 10 W | 18.7 h | 68 kWh | €13.68 |
| Vacuum Cleaner | Other appliances | 1,000 W | 11 min | 67 kWh | €13.42 |
| Slow Cooker | Cooking | 200 W | 47 min | 58 kWh | €11.55 |
| Outdoor Security Floodlight | Lighting | 30 W | 3.9 h | 43 kWh | €8.57 |
| Electric Kettle ×3 | Cooking | 2,000 W | 1 min | 32 kWh | €6.50 |
| Electric Lawn Mower (Corded or Battery) | Other appliances | 1,200 W | 4 min | 32 kWh | €6.44 |
| Washing Machine ×0.7 | Washing, drying & dishwashing | 500 W | 15 min | 31 kWh | €6.21 |
| Coffee Maker (Drip) | Cooking | 1,000 W | 3 min | 18 kWh | €3.61 |
| Phone Charger ×2 | TV, computing & network | 10 W | 1.6 h | 11 kWh | €2.28 |
| Microwave | Cooking | 1,000 W | 1 min | 9 kWh | €1.81 |
| Toaster | Cooking | 1,000 W | 1 min | 4 kWh | €0.72 |
| Garage Door Opener | Other appliances | 500 W | 1 min | 3 kWh | €0.54 |
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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.