🏠 Household
How Much Does a Power Tool Battery Charger Cost to Run?
At the current U.S. average rate of 18.3¢/kWh (July 2026), a power tool battery charger costs about $0.14 per month at typical usage — 3 uses/week at 0.06 kWh each.
Per use
1.1¢
0.06 kWh per use
Per day
0.5¢
3 uses/week at 0.06 kWh each
Per month
$0.14
0.8 kWh
Per year
$1.72
9.4 kWh
Charging a typical 4–5 Ah tool battery uses under a tenth of a kilowatt-hour. An entire fleet of drill and saw batteries costs less per year than leaving one porch light on for a week.
Calculate it for your home
Per use
1.1¢
Per day
0.5¢
Per month
$0.14
Per year
$1.72
Uses 0.8 kWh/month at 18.3¢ per kWh.
Cheapest and most expensive states
Monthly cost at typical usage, using each state's current average residential rate.
Cost in every state
| State | Rate (¢/kWh) | Per use | Per month | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Louisiana | 12.7 | 0.8¢ | $0.10 | $1.19 |
| Nevada | 12.8 | 0.8¢ | $0.10 | $1.20 |
| Utah | 13.1 | 0.8¢ | $0.10 | $1.23 |
| North Dakota | 13.4 | 0.8¢ | $0.10 | $1.26 |
| Idaho | 13.7 | 0.8¢ | $0.11 | $1.29 |
| Tennessee | 13.7 | 0.8¢ | $0.11 | $1.29 |
| Kentucky | 13.8 | 0.8¢ | $0.11 | $1.30 |
| Nebraska | 13.8 | 0.8¢ | $0.11 | $1.30 |
| Arkansas | 14.3 | 0.9¢ | $0.11 | $1.34 |
| Oklahoma | 14.4 | 0.9¢ | $0.11 | $1.35 |
| Wyoming | 14.4 | 0.9¢ | $0.11 | $1.35 |
| Mississippi | 14.5 | 0.9¢ | $0.11 | $1.36 |
| Washington | 14.7 | 0.9¢ | $0.11 | $1.38 |
| Florida | 15.0 | 0.9¢ | $0.12 | $1.41 |
| Montana | 15.0 | 0.9¢ | $0.12 | $1.41 |
| North Carolina | 15.2 | 0.9¢ | $0.12 | $1.43 |
| Kansas | 15.3 | 0.9¢ | $0.12 | $1.44 |
| Arizona | 15.4 | 0.9¢ | $0.12 | $1.45 |
| South Dakota | 15.4 | 0.9¢ | $0.12 | $1.45 |
| South Carolina | 15.5 | 0.9¢ | $0.12 | $1.45 |
| West Virginia | 15.8 | 0.9¢ | $0.12 | $1.48 |
| Texas | 15.9 | 1.0¢ | $0.12 | $1.49 |
| Iowa | 16.0 | 1.0¢ | $0.13 | $1.50 |
| Oregon | 16.0 | 1.0¢ | $0.13 | $1.50 |
| Missouri | 16.1 | 1.0¢ | $0.13 | $1.51 |
| New Mexico | 16.1 | 1.0¢ | $0.13 | $1.51 |
| Georgia | 16.3 | 1.0¢ | $0.13 | $1.53 |
| Alabama | 16.4 | 1.0¢ | $0.13 | $1.54 |
| Indiana | 16.7 | 1.0¢ | $0.13 | $1.57 |
| Colorado | 17.0 | 1.0¢ | $0.13 | $1.60 |
| Minnesota | 17.5 | 1.0¢ | $0.14 | $1.64 |
| Virginia | 17.6 | 1.1¢ | $0.14 | $1.65 |
| Delaware | 18.5 | 1.1¢ | $0.14 | $1.74 |
| Wisconsin | 19.1 | 1.1¢ | $0.15 | $1.79 |
| Illinois | 19.2 | 1.2¢ | $0.15 | $1.80 |
| Ohio | 19.5 | 1.2¢ | $0.15 | $1.83 |
| Maryland | 21.4 | 1.3¢ | $0.17 | $2.01 |
| Pennsylvania | 21.7 | 1.3¢ | $0.17 | $2.04 |
| Michigan | 23.1 | 1.4¢ | $0.18 | $2.17 |
| Vermont | 23.8 | 1.4¢ | $0.19 | $2.23 |
| Connecticut | 24.2 | 1.5¢ | $0.19 | $2.27 |
| Washington, D.C. | 25.2 | 1.5¢ | $0.20 | $2.37 |
| New Jersey | 25.2 | 1.5¢ | $0.20 | $2.37 |
| New Hampshire | 26.6 | 1.6¢ | $0.21 | $2.50 |
| Rhode Island | 28.3 | 1.7¢ | $0.22 | $2.66 |
| Alaska | 28.8 | 1.7¢ | $0.23 | $2.70 |
| New York | 29.9 | 1.8¢ | $0.23 | $2.81 |
| Massachusetts | 30.5 | 1.8¢ | $0.24 | $2.86 |
| Maine | 32.4 | 1.9¢ | $0.25 | $3.04 |
| California | 33.6 | 2.0¢ | $0.26 | $3.15 |
| Hawaii | 48.0 | 2.9¢ | $0.38 | $4.51 |
How to lower the cost
- Always-on devices are the quiet budget line: audit anything that runs 24/7.
- Auto modes with sensors (purifiers, dehumidifiers) cut runtime dramatically versus always-on.
- A smart plug with energy monitoring answers “what does this actually use?” for $10.
Frequently asked questions
How much electricity does a power tool battery charger use?
A typical power tool battery charger uses about 0.06 kWh per use. At 3 uses per week, that's roughly 0.8 kWh per month.
How much does one use of a power tool battery charger cost?
At the current U.S. average rate of 18.3¢/kWh, each use costs about 1.1¢. That ranges from 0.8¢ in Louisiana to 2.9¢ in Hawaii.
How much does a power tool battery charger cost to run per month?
With typical usage (3 uses/week at 0.06 kWh each), expect about $0.14 per month at the U.S. average rate — from $0.10 in Louisiana up to $0.38 in Hawaii. Rates are as of July 2026.
Does a power tool battery charger use a lot of electricity?
Not really — at typical usage it's under 1% of an average home's monthly consumption. Heating, cooling, hot water, and drying are the loads that move bills.