How Much Does an Electric Blanket Cost to Run vs Heating a Room?

Heating 8 min read

By the Plug & Penny editorial team · Published 11 November 2026

A typical 100-watt electric blanket costs at most 1.82¢ an hour in the US and 2.63p an hour in the UK. On full power for an 8-hour night, that is 14.53¢ or 21.06p. Over a winter it comes to about $22 in the US (assuming 150 nights) or £38 in the UK (assuming 180 nights).

Heating the whole room with a portable electric heater costs far more. Compared at full power, a 1,500 W heater costs 27.24¢ an hour in the US and 39.48p an hour in the UK. That is 15 times the blanket's cost, because 1,500 ÷ 100 = 15.

Put another way, the heater would only need to run 4 minutes in every hour to cost as much as the blanket on full power (100 ÷ 1,500 × 60 = 4). Both figures assume full power. If your blanket draws less than its rating, the heater's break-even time gets shorter still.

Prices used throughout:

• US: 18.16¢/kWh. This is the national average residential price for August 2026 from the EIA.
• UK: 26.32p/kWh. This is the Ofgem price cap unit rate for 1 October to 31 December 2026 (Great Britain average, Direct Debit, no VAT on electricity in this period).

How the cost is worked out

There are two steps:

• watts × hours ÷ 1,000 = kWh
• kWh × price per kWh = cost

For a 100 W blanket on for 8 hours: 100 × 8 ÷ 1,000 = 0.8 kWh. In the US, 0.8 × 18.16¢ = 14.53¢. In the UK, 0.8 × 26.32p = 21.06p.

The wattage on a blanket is its maximum rating. Our sources do not give measured average power for blankets on lower settings. So the tables assume full power for every hour the blanket is on, and you should treat them as a ceiling.

The UK standing charge (54.83p a day under the October to December 2026 cap) is not included. You pay it whether or not the blanket is on.

To work out your own case, enter your blanket's rated wattage, your hours and your own price:

Electric blanket running costs in the US

These figures use 18.16¢/kWh (EIA, August 2026). A month is 30 nights. A winter is 150 nights, the season length used by EcoEnergyCalc. That is an assumption, not an official figure. Consumer Reports used 25 weeks (175 nights) in a 2009 article.

The 100 W row matches Sunbeam's rating for its current blanket (see below). The 70 W and 150 W rows show how the cost changes across the 40 to 150 W range that EDF gives for most blankets.

Electric blanket running costs in the UK

These figures use 26.32p/kWh (Ofgem cap, 1 October to 31 December 2026). A month is 30 nights. A winter is 180 nights, the season used by HouseholdMoneySaving. Uswitch uses 183 days, so this is an assumption too.

Pre-heating or all night?

The 4-hour column follows the example HouseholdMoneySaving uses. It says most people pre-heat the bed for a few hours rather than run the blanket all night. The 8-hour column is the cost if it stays on all night. Halve the month and winter figures if you use it for 4 hours instead of 8.

UK fire services advise unplugging a blanket before you get into bed, unless it has a thermostat control designed for safe all-night use (Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue). Check your blanket's instructions before you plan on the 8-hour figure.

How many watts does an electric blanket use?

It depends on size and model, and published ranges differ.

• General ranges: EDF says most electric blankets use 40 to 150 W. Silentnight says most use 40 to 100 W, and HouseholdMoneySaving says 60 to 150 W.
• By bed size: the Slumberdown Sleepy Nights underblanket is 40 W as a single, 70 W as a double and 90 W as a king, according to Trusted Reviews. So a single costs less than half as much as a king to run.
• Dual control: the Slumberdown Wonderfully Warm uses 60 W per controller. A single has one controller. Doubles and larger have two, so 120 W in total (Trusted Reviews).
• US: Sunbeam's own page rates its current Heated Greystone Blanket at 100 W, with one listing covering twin to king. In 2009, Consumer Reports quoted a US Department of Energy figure of 100 W for a typical full-size blanket.

The ranges differ because of size, model and the number of controls. Your own blanket's rating is the figure to use in the calculator.

Electric blanket vs space heater

A blanket warms you. A heater warms the air in the whole room. That is why the cost gap is so large. Silentnight notes that an electric blanket draws less power than a fan heater or radiator.

US heaters. Most portable electric heaters draw 1,500 W on high, and many have a 750 W low or eco setting (VoltButler). Electric resistance heaters turn essentially all their electricity into heat. So ceramic, oil-filled and infrared models of the same wattage cost the same per hour (howmanybtus.com).

UK heaters. Fan heaters are typically 1.5 to 3 kW, and oil-filled radiators are 0.5 to 2.5 kW (Energy Bill Toolkit). As an example, De'Longhi's Radia S oil-filled radiator is 2,000 W at maximum and 900 W at minimum, with a room thermostat.

Both tables use the same basis as the blanket tables: every appliance runs at its rated power the whole time.

The heater figures are ceilings, like the blanket figures. A thermostat switches a heater off once the room is warm. How often depends on room size, insulation and the weather outside (homeenergymodel.co.uk), so there is no single honest "typical" figure.

The break-even point is simple, though. Against a 100 W blanket on full power, a 1,500 W heater can run only 4 minutes an hour (100 ÷ 1,500 × 60), and a 2,000 W heater only 3 minutes (100 ÷ 2,000 × 60), before it costs more.

The Energy Saving Trust warns that portable heaters only warm a single room and can be expensive to run. De'Longhi itself says the Radia S is "only suitable for well insulated spaces or occasional use".

What it costs in your state

Each row uses that state's average residential price for August 2026 from the EIA. The blanket is 100 W on full power for 8 hours (0.8 kWh a night). The heater is 1,500 W on full power for 8 hours (12 kWh a night), which is its maximum. A winter is 150 nights (an assumption, as above).

On a 750 W low setting, halve the heater columns. For a blanket with a different rating, scale the blanket columns. For example, multiply by 1.5 for a 150 W blanket.

Heated throw running costs (UK and US)

The short answer: a heated throw costs at most 0.73¢ to 2.72¢ an hour in the US and 1.05p to 3.95p an hour in the UK. That range uses the 40 to 150 W that EDF gives for throws, at full power.

Prices: 18.16¢/kWh (EIA, August 2026) and 26.32p/kWh (Ofgem, October to December 2026). The 3-hour column matches Sunbeam's throw auto-off in its heated bedding manual, and one of the timer options on Dreamland's throws. Another Sunbeam throw manual gives a 4-hour auto-off. The Sunbeam manuals cited here do not list a wattage, so check the label on your throw.

The top of the range is a real model. Dreamland's Luxury Heated Throws are rated 150 W in the Dreamland manual. Their auto shut-off can be set to 1, 3 or 9 hours, and defaults to 1 hour each time you switch on (Dreamland manual).

The claimed average (unverified). Dreamland says its newer Café Collection throws use 301 Wh over eight hours. That is about 38 W on average, well below the 150 W rating, because the throws cycle their heating (NationalWorld). It is the manufacturer's own figure, not an independent test. If it holds, eight hours in the UK would cost 0.301 × 26.32p = 7.92p, or about 1p an hour.

Is it cheaper to use an electric blanket than heating?

Running a blanket is cheap, but it only saves money if it lets you use less heating. If the heating stays as it was, the blanket is an extra cost on top.

US. The Department of Energy says you can save as much as 10% a year on heating and cooling by turning the thermostat back 7 to 10°F from its normal setting for 8 hours a day (energy.gov). Overnight is the obvious time to do that, and a warm bed makes a cooler house easier to live with. Our sources do not give a US cost per night for central heating, so use your own bill to put a dollar figure on that 10%.

UK. The Energy Saving Trust suggests setting your thermostat to the lowest comfortable temperature, which is between 18°C and 21°C for most people. It says turning it down by 1°C, from 22°C to 21°C, could save £120 in Great Britain and £80 in Northern Ireland (Energy Saving Trust). Radiator valves (TRVs) also let you keep a bedroom cooler than the living room.

If your heating is gas. If you heat with a gas boiler rather than a portable heater, the heater tables above do not apply to you. Under the October to December 2026 cap, gas is 7.97p/kWh and electricity is 26.32p/kWh. That makes electricity about 3.3 times the price per unit (26.32 ÷ 7.97 = 3.3).

A new gas boiler must be at least 92% efficient (Which?). At that efficiency, a kWh of heat from gas costs about 8.66p (7.97 ÷ 0.92). So the 21.06p a 100 W blanket costs for a full-power night would buy about 2.4 kWh of heat from a new boiler. There is no official figure for how much heat one bedroom needs per night, so that cannot be turned into a like-for-like per-night cost.

For the whole home, Ofgem's typical medium household uses 11,500 kWh of gas a year (Ofgem). At 7.97p that is about £917 a year before the standing charge. Ofgem has proposed lowering that typical figure to 9,500 kWh, which would be about £757. Set against that, £38 for a winter of full-power blanket nights is small.

How to cut the cost

• Pre-heat, then switch off. Warming the bed for 4 hours instead of 8 halves the cost. Some Sunbeam controls have a 30-minute preheat that then drops back to your chosen setting (Sunbeam manual).
• Check the timer is on. Sunbeam blankets switch off after 10 hours of continuous use. Some models have an "Auto-Off Select" button that disables this, and a power cut resets the timer (same Sunbeam manual).
• Heat only your side. On a dual-control blanket like the Wonderfully Warm, one side alone uses 60 W instead of 120 W. That is 1.58p an hour instead of 3.16p in the UK.
• Use a throw instead of a heater when you are sitting still. A 150 W throw costs 3.95p an hour in the UK, against 52.64p for a 2,000 W radiator on full power.
• If you do use a heater, use the low setting. A 750 W setting costs 13.62¢ an hour in the US, half the 27.24¢ of 1,500 W.

A quick safety note

Cheap to run should not mean old or damaged. UK fire services advise replacing a blanket at least every 10 years, never using it folded or bunched, and checking for scorch marks or worn wires (Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue). In the US, check your model number against recalls on the CPSC website.

Sources

1. U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.6.A
2. Ofgem, Energy price cap unit rates and standing charges
3. Is an Electric Blanket Cheaper Than Heating? (2026 US Numbers) – EcoEnergyCalc
4. Q&A: Can I save on my heating bills by using an electric blanket? – Consumer Reports
5. How Much Does an Electric Blanket Cost to Run in the UK? – HouseholdMoneySaving
6. How much does it cost to use an electric blanket? – Uswitch
7. Electric Blankets – Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service
8. Are Electric Blankets Expensive to Run? – EDF
9. Tips for Using Your Electric Blanket – Silentnight
10. Slumberdown Sleepy Nights Electric Blanket Review – Trusted Reviews
11. Slumberdown Wonderfully Warm Electric Blanket Review – Trusted Reviews
12. Sunbeam Heated Greystone Blanket Microplush 12 Heat Settings
13. How Much Electricity Does a Space Heater Use? (2026) – VoltButler
14. Space Heater Wattage Calculator — Watts, BTU & Cost – howmanybtus.com
15. Electric heater running costs UK – Energy Bill Toolkit
16. Radia S Grey Oil filled radiator 2KW Electric Timer TRRS0920E.G – De'Longhi
17. Energy efficient portable heaters: best UK picks and running costs – homeenergymodel.co.uk
18. Electric heating – Energy Saving Trust
19. Sunbeam Heated Bedding Manual – ManualsLib
20. Heated Throw 4 Heat Settings – Sunbeam manual
21. DREAMLAND R7507 Instructions for use manual – ManualsLib
22. Dreamland Luxury Heated Throw Instruction Manual – Manuals+
23. Dreamland's new heated throws look like they belong in a coffee shop – NationalWorld
24. Home Upgrades – U.S. Department of Energy
25. Heating controls – Energy Saving Trust
26. Boiler energy efficiency explained – Which?
27. Average gas and electricity usage – Ofgem
28. Review of typical domestic consumption values consultation – Ofgem

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