United Kingdom Heating
How much does it cost to run an electric blanket?
An electric blanket is one of the cheapest ways to be warm because it heats you, not the room. A double blanket is rated around 100 watts and spends about half the night switched off by its thermostat.
A 100 watt electric blanket costs about 1.3p an hour to run in Great Britain at 26.32 pence per kWh. Running it 8 hours a day cycling 50% of the time comes to about 11p a day, £3.20 a month and £38.45 a year.
- Price: Ofgem cap, Oct to Dec 2026
- Wattage range with its source
- Checked 26 October 2026
Uses 0.40 kWh a day, 12 kWh a month, at 26.32 pence per kWh (Great Britain (price cap average)).
The dial places the daily cost between a 50 watt fan and a 4.5 kW water heater on 2.5 hours a day.
A 100 watt electric blanket costs about 1.3p an hour to run in Great Britain at 26.32 pence per kWh. Running it 8 hours a day cycling 50% of the time comes to about 11p a day, £3.20 a month and £38.45 a year.
What this assumes
The default is a 100 watt electric blanket running 8 hours a day, drawing full power 50% of the time it is switched on (the rest of the time a thermostat or sensor has it idle). Published typical ratings run from 50 to 200 watts. Your label or manual gives the exact figure, and the calculator takes it.
The price is the Ofgem price cap unit rate for 1 October to 31 December 2026, average for England, Scotland and Wales, paying by Direct Debit. The cap for 1 January to 31 March 2027 is announced in late November 2026. A fixed tariff, a time-of-use plan or a different payment method changes the rate, which is why the rate field is editable.
Cost by wattage and hours at the price cap rate
At 26.32p per kWh, running flat out. Multiply by the share of the time your thermostat keeps the element on.
| Power | 1 hour | 8 hours | 24 hours | A week at 8 hours a day |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 watt | 1.3p | 11p | 32p | 74p |
| 100 watt | 2.6p | 21p | 63p | £1.47 |
| 200 watt | 5.3p | 42p | £1.26 | £2.95 |
How an electric blanket uses electricity
Single blankets are typically 50 to 70 watts, doubles and kings 100 to 200 watts with two zones. The rated power is only drawn while the heating wire is on, and most modern blankets cycle on a thermostat, so the average draw is about half the rating.
An hour of a 100 watt blanket at half duty is 0.05 kWh. Eight hours is 0.4 kWh, roughly the same energy as running a 1,500 watt heater for 16 minutes.
Ways to cut the cost
- Pre-heat the bed for 20 minutes and then turn it down to the lowest setting.
- A heated throw on the sofa does the same job as a room heater for a fraction of the cost.
Questions people ask
Is an electric blanket cheaper than a space heater?
By a very wide margin. A 100 watt blanket at half duty uses about 0.05 kWh an hour. A 1,500 watt heater at three quarters duty uses about 1.1 kWh an hour, over twenty times more.
How much does it cost to leave an electric blanket on all night?
Eight hours of a 100 watt blanket at half duty is about 0.4 kWh. Multiply by your unit rate: at 18 cents that is about 7 cents, at 26p it is about 10p.
Other heating costs
More in the UK
Sources
The electricity price on this page is read from the data file that also lists the release it came from. The wattage range is a published typical range, not a measurement of your appliance.