Appliance running cost calculator

Every appliance carries a rating label, usually near the power cord or on the back panel, that lists either watts directly or volts and amps that multiply to give watts. This rated figure is almost always the maximum the device can draw, not what it draws continuously. Compressor-based appliances — air conditioners, refrigerators, freezers and water pumps — cycle between full power and idle, so their real average draw over an hour of "use" is well below the nameplate number. Resistive-heating appliances — irons, kettles, geysers and rice cookers — draw close to their full rated power the entire time they're switched on, so the nameplate figure is a much more accurate estimate for those.

This calculator's appliance list already applies realistic typical daily hours for a Bangladeshi household, but you should adjust the hours field to match your own habits — a family running one AC nine hours a night in peak summer will get a very different answer from one running it three hours in a mild month. When comparing appliances, multiply the monthly unit figure by your marginal slab rate rather than your bill's blended average rate, because the marginal rate is what actually changes if you add or remove that specific load.