How many watts does a hair dryer use?

While not as power-hungry as appliances like air conditioners or washing machines, it's important to know how much electricity a hair dryer uses when you're looking at your whole home's energy usage.

Generally, hair dryers use between 1,500 and 2,000 watts (W) of electricity, depending on the model. hair dryers usually use between 15 and 20 amps and connect to a 120-volt outlet.

How much you use your hair dryer has the biggest impact on how much electricity it uses over time. Assuming an average hair dryer needs 1,800 W to run:

• Using your hair dryer for 5 minutes per day results in 1.05 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity per week, 4.56 kWh per month, and 54.75 kWh per year.

• Ten minutes per day of hair dryer usage comes to 2.1 kWh per week, 9.13 kWh per month, and 109.5 kWh per year.

• On the upper end, running a hair dryer for 15 minutes per day uses 3.15 kWh of electricity per week, 13.69 kWh per month, and 164.25 kWh per year.

Different wattage hair dryers use different amounts of electricity over the course of a year. Assuming you run your hair dryer a moderate amount (10 minutes per day or 70 minutes per week), here's how much electricity you'll use over the course of a year for different wattage hair dryers:

How many watts do different hair dryers use in a year?

We'll mostly be referring to the electricity used by hair dryers in terms of kWh in this article. The reason is simple: your electric bill is measured in kWh, and you get charged based on the kWh of electricity you use per month!

When you get your monthly electric bill, you only see the total amount you're charged, not how much each appliance contributes to your final bill. Based on an average wattage of 1,800 W for hair dryers (amounting to 109.5 kWh/year if you use your hair dryer like an average household would) and using state average electricity rates, here's how the cost to run a hair dryer pans out over the course of a month and a year:

Monthly and yearly costs to run a hair dryer by state

Note: average electricity rates are based on October 2021 data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).

Looking to offset your electric bills (and the energy these appliances use) with solar? When you sign up (for free!) on the EnergySage Marketplace, you can compare solar quotes from high-quality, local solar installers. Make sure to keep in mind your current and future electricity usage, and talk about how that could change with your installer for the most accurate quotes.

Calculate how much energy your own hair dryer uses

If you want to know how much electricity your Wi-Fi router uses (or at least is supposed to use), take an estimated yearly electricity use in kWh and multiply this number by the average electricity rate in your area to get an estimate of how much you spend to power your Wi-Fi router each year. You can often find a wattage rating in the spec sheet for your router. For an estimated monthly cost, divide the estimated yearly cost by 12.

What's the best time to run a hair dryer?

If you're on a time-of-use (TOU) rate plan, you are charged different amounts for electricity throughout the day. In general, it's cheaper to use appliances during "off-peak" hours, which are usually overnight.

What size battery do you need to back up a hair dryer?

All popular home batteries can power a hair dryer: most lithium-ion batteries like the Tesla Powerwall or Generac PWRcell have a power rating of 4 to 5 kW or higher and 10+ kWh of usable capacity. Hair dryers use about 1,800 W (1.8 kW) of power at any one time, meaning a battery will be plenty suitable for backing up and powering your hair dryer, even for long periods.

How many solar panels does it take to run a hair dryer?

On average, hair dryers use about 800 W of electricity to stay powered. With solar panels rated at around 350 W, you'll be able to power a hair dryer with about three standard solar panels.

What are ENERGY STAR appliances?

ENERGY STAR is a U.S. government-backed system that certifies how energy-efficient appliances are. If an appliance is better than the average appliance in its category by a certain amount, it is labeled as "ENERGY STAR certified." ENERGY STAR appliances cost less money to run, given that they are more efficient with the electricity they use.

Solar savings vary widely, and your unique savings depend on factors like electricity usage, location, and electric rates and plans. In general, most homeowners can expect to save somewhere between $10,000 and $30,000 over the lifetime of a solar panel system. On average, it takes between 7 and 8 years for most homeowners who shop for solar on EnergySage to get their solar panels to pay for themselves.

Going solar is one of the most effective ways to reduce or eliminate your electric bill, and you should make sure you are getting several quotes from reputable installers before you decide to move forward. Visit the EnergySage Marketplace to get solar quotes from installers in your area and begin comparing options.