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 €0.200 per kWh (source: EDF Tarif Bleu, Aug 2026), that is €71.49 per month, or €857.83 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. France statistics do not separate this household from couple in a house, so they share the same official figure.

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	€265.93	31%
Water heating	656 kWh	€131.25	15%
Refrigeration & freezing	604 kWh	€120.95	14%
Cooking	309 kWh	€61.76	7%
Washing, drying & dishwashing	257 kWh	€51.47	6%
TV, computing & network	467 kWh	€93.50	11%
Lighting	133 kWh	€26.59	3%
Other appliances	532 kWh	€106.37	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

Heating & cooling 31%
Water heating 15%
Refrigeration & freezing 14%
Cooking 7%
Washing, drying & dishwashing 6%
TV, computing & network 11%
Lighting 3%
Other appliances 12%

Illustrative shape of a typical day: each band's area equals that end use's share of 11.7 kWh a day, peaking around 18:00. The timing is a standard household pattern, not a measurement, and it changes with season and habits.

What drives this household's bill

The largest share here is heating & cooling at 31% (€265.93 a year), followed by water heating at 15%.
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 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.

Appliance	End use	Typical	Hours/day	Per year	Cost
Refrigerator	Refrigeration & freezing	150 W	8.3 h	453 kWh	€90.72
Television	TV, computing & network	100 W	7.8 h	285 kWh	€57.01
Electric Blanket ×2	Other appliances	100 W	8.0 h	240 kWh	€48.02
Chest Freezer	Refrigeration & freezing	100 W	4.1 h	151 kWh	€30.24
Clothes Dryer	Washing, drying & dishwashing	3,000 W	7 min	133 kWh	€26.62
Laptop	TV, computing & network	45 W	6.2 h	103 kWh	€20.53
Induction Cooktop	Cooking	1,800 W	9 min	97 kWh	€19.50
Dishwasher	Washing, drying & dishwashing	1,500 W	10 min	93 kWh	€18.64
Vacuum Cleaner	Other appliances	1,000 W	15 min	91 kWh	€18.26
Electric Oven	Cooking	2,500 W	6 min	90 kWh	€18.06
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
Slow Cooker	Cooking	200 W	47 min	58 kWh	€11.56
Outdoor Security Floodlight	Lighting	30 W	3.9 h	43 kWh	€8.58
Electric Kettle ×3	Cooking	2,000 W	1 min	32 kWh	€6.50
Washing Machine	Washing, drying & dishwashing	500 W	10 min	31 kWh	€6.21
Electric Lawn Mower (Corded or Battery)	Other appliances	1,200 W	6 min	22 kWh	€4.32
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
Garage Door Opener	Other appliances	500 W	1 min	4 kWh	€0.73
Toaster	Cooking	1,000 W	1 min	4 kWh	€0.72
Small appliances, standby and items not listed	Other appliances	–	–	175 kWh	€35.04

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The same household in other countries

Country	Official benchmark	Per year	Per month
United States (average)	10,648 kWh	$1,953	$162.74
United Kingdom	2,500 kWh	£658.00	£54.83
Germany	2,700 kWh	€999.00	€83.25
France	4,287 kWh	€857.83	€71.49
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.

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