How many watts does a box fan use?
A box fan uses 60–150 W (about 100 W on average). Running 8 hours/day, that is about 0.80 kWh a day and 24.0 kWh a month — roughly $4.39 a month at the U.S. average rate of 18.31 ¢/kWh.
This is the box fan electricity usage reference: watts, amps on a 120 V circuit, the kWh math, and links to what that usage costs in each state.
Watts, amps, and kWh for a box fan
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Rated wattage range | 60–150 W |
| Average draw used in our math | 100 W |
| Amps at 120 V | 0.5–1.3 A (0.8 A at the average draw) |
| kWh per hour | 0.10 kWh |
| kWh per day at 8 hours/day | 0.80 kWh |
| kWh per month | 24.0 kWh |
| Cost per month at the U.S. average (18.31 ¢/kWh) | $4.39 |
The math is kWh = watts × hours ÷ 1000 and amps = watts ÷ volts. A standard 120 V household circuit on a 15 A breaker carries about 1,800 W. For the dollars in your state, open cost to run a box fan in Texas and switch states from there.
Box Fan electricity usage profile
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| kWh per hour | 0.10 kWh |
| kWh per day (typical) | 0.80 kWh |
| kWh per month (typical) | 24.0 kWh |
| kWh per year (typical) | 292.0 kWh |
| Low runtime scenario | 4 hours/day |
| High runtime scenario | 12 hours/day |
Connect usage to cost tools
Related appliance usage pages
Source & Method
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) Retail Sales of Electricity. Last dataset period: July 2026. Usage calculations use fixed appliance wattage and runtime assumptions so results stay comparable across pages.
Frequently asked questions
How many watts does a box fan use?
A box fan uses 60–150 W (about 100 W on average). Our usage and cost math uses 100 watts running 8 hours/day.
How many amps does a box fan draw?
On a 120 V circuit, 60–150 W works out to about 0.5–1.3 A; at the 100 W we use in the math that is 0.8 A.
How much electricity does a box fan use per month?
About 24.0 kWh a month at 8 hours/day. Lighter use (4 hours/day) comes to roughly 12.0 kWh and heavier use (12 hours/day) roughly 36.0 kWh.
How much does it cost to run a box fan?
About $4.39 a month at the U.S. average rate of 18.31 ¢/kWh — from roughly $3.05 in Louisiana to $11.52 in Hawaii at the same usage. The state cost-to-run pages price it at every state's rate.