How many watts does a television use?
A television uses 50–400 W (about 150 W on average). Running 5 hours/day, that is about 0.75 kWh a day and 22.5 kWh a month — roughly $4.12 a month at the U.S. average rate of 18.31 ¢/kWh.
This is the television 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 television
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Rated wattage range | 50–400 W |
| Average draw used in our math | 150 W |
| Amps at 120 V | 0.4–3.3 A (1.3 A at the average draw) |
| kWh per hour | 0.15 kWh |
| kWh per day at 5 hours/day | 0.75 kWh |
| kWh per month | 22.5 kWh |
| Cost per month at the U.S. average (18.31 ¢/kWh) | $4.12 |
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 television in Texas and switch states from there.
Television electricity usage profile
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| kWh per hour | 0.15 kWh |
| kWh per day (typical) | 0.75 kWh |
| kWh per month (typical) | 22.5 kWh |
| kWh per year (typical) | 273.8 kWh |
| Low runtime scenario | 2.5 hours/day |
| High runtime scenario | 7.5 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 television use?
A television uses 50–400 W (about 150 W on average). Our usage and cost math uses 150 watts running 5 hours/day.
How many amps does a television draw?
On a 120 V circuit, 50–400 W works out to about 0.4–3.3 A; at the 150 W we use in the math that is 1.3 A.
How much electricity does a television use per month?
About 22.5 kWh a month at 5 hours/day. Lighter use (2.5 hours/day) comes to roughly 11.3 kWh and heavier use (7.5 hours/day) roughly 33.8 kWh.
How much does it cost to run a television?
About $4.12 a month at the U.S. average rate of 18.31 ¢/kWh — from roughly $2.86 in Louisiana to $10.80 in Hawaii at the same usage. The state cost-to-run pages price it at every state's rate.