If you want to cut your bill, start with the biggest users — not the phone charger. Here's the typical ranking, from power-hungry to trivial.
Figures are typical estimates and vary by home, climate, and usage. Use the calculators to get numbers for your own devices and rates.
| Rank | What | Share of a typical bill |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Heating & cooling (HVAC) | ~40–50% |
| 2 | Water heater | ~14–18% |
| 3 | Washer, dryer & dishwasher | ~10% |
| 4 | Refrigerator & freezers | ~7% |
| 5 | Lighting | ~5–10% |
| 6 | TVs, computers, electronics | ~5–7% |
| 7 | Everything else (small stuff) | the rest |
Heating and cooling moves a huge amount of air and energy for hours at a time, which is why it's typically half your bill. That's also why a small thermostat change or sealing leaks saves more than unplugging chargers ever could. If you only fix one thing, fix here.
Your fridge, water heater, and standby electronics run around the clock. Even at low wattage, 24/7 adds up — an old second fridge in the garage can quietly cost $100+ a year. Small wattage × many hours = real money.
Every home is different — an electric-heat home looks nothing like a gas-heat home. To see what your specific devices cost, plug their wattage and hours into the Appliance Running Cost Calculator, and check your overall bill with the Electricity Bill Calculator. Then attack the top of the list first.
Chase the big rocks: heating/cooling, water heating, and the always-on appliances. That's where the savings live. For the full playbook, see 17 ways to lower your electric bill.