How to Calculate Your Home Electricity Bill by Appliance
Estimate your monthly electricity use and bill from watts, hours and quantity for each appliance, find the biggest users and cut the cost.
Electricity bills in Bangladesh have risen steadily, and many families are surprised by the total at the end of the month. The good news is that you can predict the bill, and find where it comes from, with a list of your appliances. The free Electricity Bill Calculator turns a list of watts and hours into kilowatt-hours and taka.
Quick answer
Energy in kWh = watts x hours per day x quantity x days / 1,000. Multiply by your price per unit to get the cost. A 75 W fan running 10 hours a day, three fans, for 30 days uses 67.5 kWh.
The Electricity Bill Calculator with four example appliances.
A worked example
| Appliance | Watts | Hours/day | Qty | kWh in 30 days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ceiling fan | 75 | 10 | 3 | 67.5 |
| LED light | 12 | 8 | 6 | 17.3 |
| Refrigerator | 150 | 8 (running time) | 1 | 36.0 |
| TV | 100 | 4 | 1 | 12.0 |
| Total | 132.8 |
At an average of 8 taka per unit, that is about 1,062 taka a month, or about 35 taka a day. The fans use half of everything in this home.
How to find the watts
- Look at the label on the appliance or its charger. Watts (W) is the figure you need.
- If only amps and volts are shown, multiply them: 2 A at 220 V is 440 W.
- For a refrigerator, use the running wattage and the hours the compressor really runs, which is often 8 to 10 hours in a day, not 24.
- Air conditioners vary a lot. A 1.5 ton inverter unit might use 900 to 1,400 W while cooling.
Understanding the tariff
Bangladesh uses slab rates for household electricity, where the price per unit rises as consumption rises, plus demand charges, VAT and sometimes other fees. The calculator uses one average rate that you choose, so use the average from your last bill (total amount divided by units). For the exact slabs, check your distribution company's current tariff.
Where to save
- Use a fan with an efficient motor, and clean the blades. A modern BLDC fan uses about 30 W instead of 75.
- Switch to LED lights. An LED uses a fraction of an older bulb.
- Set the air conditioner to 26 degrees and use the fan to spread cool air. Each degree lower adds roughly 3 to 5 percent to the cooling cost.
- Defrost and keep the fridge door shut, and leave space for air behind it.
- Unplug chargers and set-top boxes that draw power in standby.
- Run the water pump and iron in short bursts, and avoid peak hours if your tariff has them.
Using the result
Compare the calculated figure with the units on your meter bill. If the bill is far higher, something is using more than you think: an old fridge, a leaking pump, a water heater or a faulty appliance. Switch things off one at a time and watch the meter.
Frequently asked questions
Is the result exact? It is an estimate. Actual use varies with the temperature, the age of appliances and how often they are switched on.
Does it include VAT and demand charge? Not separately. Use an average rate from your bill that already includes them.
Why is the fridge so cheap per day? It cycles on and off. Its running time is a fraction of the day.
Next step
List your own appliances in the Electricity Bill Calculator. To plan the monthly budget around it, use the 50/30/20 Budget Planner.
