Running a ceiling fan requires electricity. That means there is a running cost associated with these fans. The key question here – you will need to know the ceiling fan wattage to figure it out – is this:
How much electricity does a ceiling fan use?
The ceiling fan running cost depends on two factors. These are:
- Ceiling fan wattage. Basically, you have to figure out how many watts does a ceiling fan use. Below you will find a table with 15 units, with ceiling fan wattage, CFMs, efficiency (CFM/W), and blade sizes to help you illustrate how much power does a ceiling fan use.
- Price of electricity. All ceiling fans are powered by electricity. In our ceiling fan power consumption calculator below we used a US national price of electricity ($0.1319/kWh). Obviously, operating a ceiling fan in areas with higher prices of electricity say $0.20/kWh will be more expensive.
With these two factors, we can calculate how much does it cost to run a ceiling fan per hour, day, week, or month. We are going to look into ceiling fan wattages to illustrate how many watts do ceiling fans use. Based on this and electricity prices, you can use the ceiling fan power consumption calculator and precisely calculate how much electricity does a ceiling fan use per running hour.
To ease your concerns a bit, let’s address one of the most frequently asked questions about ceiling fans.
Are ceiling fans expensive to run?
Ceiling fans are inexpensive to run. Example: Running an average 75W ceiling will spend 0.075 kWh per hour. With the average US national electricity cost of $0.1319/kWh, this will cost you less than 1 cent (0.99 US cents per hour, to be exact). That means that running an average 75W ceiling fan will cost you at most $0.24/day if you run it all day long at 100% capacity.
Even running a bigger 72-inch 100W ceiling fan for a month (24/7, 100% CFM output) will cost less than $10 ($9,50 per month, to be exact).
Before you can use the ceiling fan running cost calculator, you need to figure out the wattage of a ceiling fan. To help you out, let’s look at the ceiling fan wattage chart:
Ceiling Fan Wattage Chart
All ceiling fans are powered by an electric motor. This motor is the only electricity-consuming element; the rest – blades, downrod, and so on – don’t use electricity.
Most ceiling fans in the USA are run on 110/120V voltage and consume anywhere from 20W to 100W. The ceiling fan amp draw here is below 1 amp (between 200 mA and 900 mA).
Here are the average ceiling fan wattages by size (be mindful that energy-efficient Energy Star ceiling fan can run on up to 60% less power):
- Typical 30-inch ceiling fan runs on 42 watts.
- Typical 36-inch ceiling fan runs on 55 watts.
- Typical 42-inch ceiling fan runs on 65 watts.
- Typical 48-inch ceiling fan runs on 75 watts.
- Typical 52-inch ceiling fan runs on 84 watts.
- Typical 60-inch ceiling fan runs on 92 watts.
- Typical 72-inch ceiling fan runs on 100 watts.
These are the benchmark ceiling fan wattages for standard fans. The most energy-efficient ceiling fans can run on substantially less electric power input. Example: 56-inch Honeywell 50611-01 ceiling fan uses only 39W of power. Its running cost is about 60% lower than the running cost of a typical 56-inch ceiling fan.
Note about energy efficiency: Energy efficiency is measured in CFM/W. That simply means how much airflow (measured in CFM or Cubic Feet of air per Minute) a ceiling fan can generate per 1 watt of electric power input. The best cost-saving ceiling fans are the ones with the highest CFM/W ratio; above 100 CFM/W or so.
With that in mind, we can now look at a chart of ceiling fan wattages:
| Ceiling Fan: | Wattage (Watts): | Airflow (CFM): | Efficiency (CFM/W): | Size (Inches): |
| Portage Bay 51453 | 34 Watts | 2706 CFM | 79 CFM/W | 52 Inches |
| Prominence Home 51593 | 35 Watts | 2739 CFM | 78 CFM/W | 52 Inches |
| Honeywell Carmel | 61 Watts | 5202 CFM | 85 CFM/W | 48 Inches |
| ‎FebFurniture B08C32WL6V | 60 Watts | 4700 CFM | 78 CFM/W | 52 Inches |
| Hunter Cassius | 37 Watts | 3631 CFM | 98 CFM/W | 52 Inches |
| Honeywell 51473-01 Xerxes | 37 Watts | 3051 CFM | 82 CFM/W | 62 Inches |
| Honeywell 50602-01 Ocean Breeze | 32 Watts | 997 CFM | 32 CFM/W | 30 Inches |
| Honeywell 51475-01 Barcaderro | 32 Watts | 2197 CFM | 69 CFM/W | 44 Inches |
| Honeywell 50204-01 Royal Palm | 66 Watts | 5038 CFM | 76 CFM/W | 52 Inches |
| Honeywell 50611-01 | 39 Watts | 4019 CFM | 103 CFM/W | 56 Inches |
| Hunter Sentinel | 43 Watts | 3066 CFM | 71 CFM/W | 52 Inches |
| Hunter 59242 | 43 Watts | 3466 CFM | 81 CFM/W | 52 Inches |
| Hunter Low Profile IV | 29 Watts | 2328 CFM | 80 CFM/W | 42 Inches |
| Hunter Anslee | 36 Watts | 3155 CFM | 88 CFM/W | 46 Inches |
| Hunter Crestfield | 36 Watts | 2645 CFM | 73 CFM/W | 42 Inches |
This chart can give you an idea of how many watts does a ceiling fan use.
Of course, you will have to check how many watts does your ceiling fan run on in order to adequately calculate its running costs. Here are 3 easy ways how to check the wattage of your ceiling fan:
- Check the label on the ceiling fan (you will find voltage, amps, and wattage metrics).
- Check the manual. All the specifications – including ceiling fan wattage – should be in the manual that came along with the ceiling fan.
- Check the model number. Just figure out which ceiling fan you have, and use Google to check for ceiling fan wattage for that’s the specific model.
You will also need to know how much electricity costs in your area.
When you have these 2 pieces of information, you can use the ceiling fan power consumption calculator to figure out how much it costs to run a ceiling fan per hour:
Ceiling Fan Power Consumption Calculator
With this calculator, you just simply input the ceiling fan wattage and electricity price per kWh, and you get the ceiling fan running cost per hour.
Based on these calculations, we can create a chart that specifies how much does it cost to run a ceiling fan per hour, day, week, or month (we use a US national electricity price of $0.1319/kWh):
How Much Does It Cost To Run A Ceiling Fan Per Hours, Day, Week, Month (Chart)
| Ceiling Fan Wattage: | Cost Per Hour: | Cost Per Day: | Cost Per Week: | Cost Per Month: |
| 10 Watts | $0.0013 per hour | $0.03 per day | $0.22 per week | $0.95 per month |
| 20 Watts | $0.0026 per hour | $0.06 per day | $0.44 per week | $1.90 per month |
| 30 Watts | $0.0040 per hour | $0.09 per day | $0.66 per week | $2.85 per month |
| 40 Watts | $0.0053 per hour | $0.13 per day | $0.89 per week | $3.80 per month |
| 50 Watts | $0.0066 per hour | $0.16 per day | $1.11 per week | $4.75 per month |
| 60 Watts | $0.0079 per hour | $0.19 per day | $1.33 per week | $5.70 per month |
| 70 Watts | $0.0092 per hour | $0.22 per day | $1.55 per week | $6.65 per month |
| 80 Watts | $0.0106 per hour | $0.25 per day | $1.77 per week | $7.60 per month |
| 90 Watts | $0.0119 per hour | $0.28 per day | $1.99 per week | $8.55 per month |
| 100 Watts | $0.0132 per hour | $0.32 per day | $2.22 per week | $9.50 per month |
| 150 Watts | $0.0198 per hour | $0.47 per day | $3.32 per week | $14.25 per month |
| 200 Watts | $0.0251 per hour | $0.60 per day | $4.21 per week | $18.04 per month |
Hopeful now you can adequately estimate how much you will pay for running a ceiling fan.