What uses the most electricity in a home

The short answer: cooling, heating, hot water

The Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS) is EIA's household survey of how homes use energy. Its 2020 edition, the latest with estimates for every state, split household electricity like this: air conditioning 19%, space heating 12%, water heating 12% and refrigerators 8%. The remaining 48%¹ is spread across lighting, cooking, clothes washers and dryers, dishwashers, TVs, computers and many smaller devices. EIA's explainer on electricity use in homes names lighting and refrigerators as the next largest uses after the big three, and notes that the shares shift from year to year with the weather.

Two cautions apply to these figures. They are averages over all homes, including homes heated with gas or without central air, so in a home that has both electric heat and air conditioning the two take a larger share. And 2020 was a pandemic year, with more people at home; RECS 2024 consumption estimates are due in spring 2027.

How much electricity an average home uses

US residential customers used an average of 874 kWh² a month in 2025, from the annual reports utilities file with EIA (form EIA-861). Over the last 12 months (September 2025 to August 2026) the average was 875 kWh³, almost the same. The household survey gives a similar picture from the other side: 10,580 kWh a year per household in 2020, for which households spent $1,380¹.

The spread between states is wider than most appliance lists suggest. In 2025 the average home in Louisiana used 1,225 kWh a month, in Mississippi 1,184 kWh and in Tennessee 1,180 kWh. At the other end, California averaged 494 kWh and Hawaii 515 kWh².

The highest averages are all in the South, from Texas and Arkansas east to Florida and West Virginia. The lowest include California, Hawaii, Alaska, New York and most of New England.

Climate decides which appliance comes first

Air conditioning's share of household electricity in 2020 ranged from 36% in Arizona, 31% in Nevada and 30% in Florida down to 4% in Washington. Space heating ran the other way: 26% in Washington, 26% in West Virginia and 25% in North Dakota, against 4%¹ in California.

Air conditioningSpace heatingWater heatingRefrigeratorsEverything else

Arizona

Washington

Source: EIA, Residential Energy Consumption Survey 2020, state data. Share of household electricity by end use in 2020, the latest Residential Energy Consumption Survey with state estimates (a pandemic year; RECS 2024 consumption data are due in spring 2027). "Everything else" covers lighting, cooking, laundry, electronics and other appliances.

Show the numbers

	Air conditioning	Space heating	Water heating	Refrigerators	Everything else
Arizona	36%	6%	10%	7%	42%
Washington	4%	26%	19%	7%	44%

Homes in Arizona and Washington both used more than the US average in 2025 (1,030 kWh and 945 kWh a month, against 874 kWh²), for opposite reasons. In Arizona, cooling took 36% of household electricity in 2020 and heating 6%. In Washington, heating took 26%, water heating 19% and cooling 4%¹.

Cooling degree days measure how far and how long outdoor temperatures stay above 65°F; NOAA's population-weighted averages for 2016 to 2025 run from 204 a year in Washington to 3,429 in Florida⁵. In the chart below, states with more of them generally use more electricity per home, but the points scatter: heating fuel, house size and other differences between homes also move a state up or down.

Source: NOAA, Climate Prediction Center population-weighted degree days by state; EIA-861 2025, average monthly bill by state. Each dot is a state (horizontal: Cooling degree days; vertical: kWh a month, 2025). Population-weighted cooling degree days (base 65°F), annual average 2016-2025: a measure of air-conditioning need. 48 contiguous states only. Period: 2016 to 2025. Residential kilowatt-hours per customer per month, 2025.

Show the numbers

State	Cooling degree days	kWh a month, 2025
Washington	204	945
Montana	232	853
Oregon	281	866
Wyoming	298	835
Maine	300	533
Vermont	366	592
North Dakota	380	1,070
Colorado	418	658
Minnesota	444	744
New Hampshire	496	640
Idaho	513	933
Wisconsin	564	667
Massachusetts	630	596
Michigan	637	635
Utah	670	761
New York	678	586
South Dakota	691	984
Rhode Island	697	562
Connecticut	749	704
Pennsylvania	854	839
Iowa	860	861
Ohio	917	874
West Virginia	926	1,073
New Jersey	979	670
New Mexico	1,001	638
Indiana	1,002	938
Illinois	1,010	717
California	1,019	494
Nebraska	1,020	973
Delaware	1,277	920
Virginia	1,316	1,067
Kentucky	1,324	1,094
Maryland	1,348	945
Missouri	1,364	1,038
Tennessee	1,451	1,180
Kansas	1,507	876
North Carolina	1,646	1,044
Georgia	1,917	1,077
Arkansas	1,933	1,076
Oklahoma	1,978	1,064
Nevada	2,018	868
South Carolina	2,031	1,067
Alabama	2,124	1,145
Mississippi	2,376	1,184
Louisiana	2,550	1,225
Arizona	2,655	1,030
Texas	2,931	1,110
Florida	3,429	1,103

Electric heat and water heating change the picture

How a home is heated matters too. In the Census Bureau's 2025 American Community Survey, 41.8% of occupied US homes heated mainly with electricity, from 89.4% in Florida and 69.6% in South Carolina to 11.0% in Vermont⁶ (survey estimates with margins of error). A home on gas, oil or propane heat moves most of its winter energy off the electric meter; an all-electric home keeps it there, along with water heating, which took 19% of household electricity in Washington and 19%¹ in Hawaii in 2020.

Louisiana shows how the pieces add up. Its homes had the highest average use among the states in 2025, 1,225 kWh a month; cooling took 28% of household electricity in 2020, and 63.4% of its homes heated mainly with electricity in 2025. California is the opposite case: 30.2%⁶ of homes on electric heat and 494 kWh² a month per home in 2025. With little electric heating, refrigerators took 13% of California household electricity in 2020 and "everything else" 60%¹.

The month changes the answer too

The biggest user in a home is not the same in summer as in spring. Over the last 12 months (September 2025 to August 2026), US use per home peaked at 1,160 kWh in July 2026 and fell to 678 kWh in April 2026, when neither heating nor cooling runs much. In Arizona the highest month, August 2026 at 1,789 kWh, was 2.8 times the lowest. Washington peaks in winter instead: 1,269 kWh in January 2026³.

1,301Sep

867Oct

690Nov

718Dec

755Jan

636Feb

859Mar

824Apr

1,055May

1,445Jun

1,711Jul

1,789Aug

Source: EIA, Electric Power Monthly / EIA-861M sales and revenue by state. Residential kWh sold per customer in each month. The table adds that month's average residential price. Monthly EIA data through August 2026 (released October 23, 2026); months since January 2026 are preliminary.

Show the numbers

Month	kWh per customer	Residential ¢/kWh
September 2025	1,301	15.26¢
October 2025	867	15.55¢
November 2025	690	15.66¢
December 2025	718	15.46¢
January 2026	755	15.61¢
February 2026	636	16.03¢
March 2026	859	15.61¢
April 2026	824	15.48¢
May 2026	1,055	15.23¢
June 2026	1,445	15.18¢
July 2026	1,711	15.38¢
August 2026	1,789	15.05¢

A spring or fall month with little heating or cooling is close to a home's base load: refrigerator, water heater, lighting, cooking, electronics and anything left on. The amount by which a summer or winter month exceeds it is mostly heating or cooling.

Use is not the bill

A home that uses more electricity does not always pay more. In 2025, Louisiana homes used 1,225 kWh a month at an average price of 12.52¢ per kWh and paid $153.32; Hawaii homes used 515 kWh at 40.40¢ per kWh⁷ and paid $207.89². The average price here is average revenue per kWh: what customers paid in total divided by what they used, fixed charges included. The 2020 survey shows the same split: Hawaii households' electricity spending, $1,911 a year, was the highest among the states, while their use, 7,972 kWh a year, was 11th lowest¹. Cutting a large load saves more where each kWh costs more; the calculation guide shows how to price an appliance's kWh at your own rate.

Finding the biggest user in your own home

1. Read the 12-month history on your bill. Most bills chart kWh by month. The gap between your mildest month and your peak month is roughly your heating or cooling load.
2. Check hourly data. In the median state, 91.6% of residential meters were smart (two-way) meters in 2025. Ask your utility whether it shows your meter's hourly or daily readings online. A jump in use each time the air conditioner, heat pump or water heater runs points to the load.
3. Price a single appliance. Multiply its watts by the hours it runs to get kWh, then by your average price per kWh. The kilowatt-hour guide explains the units.
4. Look at when you use it. Time-of-use plans price the same kWh differently by hour; 11.3%⁸ of US residential customers were on a time-varying rate in 2025. See time-of-use rates.
5. Compare with your state. Your state's page shows its average use per home and its seasonal swing. If your bill is high for your use, see why is my electric bill so high.