What air conditioning costs to run in California
California homes use 1,646 kWh a year on air conditioning. Priced on top of the rest of the bill, that costs $253.92 to $852.57 a year across 115 published California plans — a $598.65 gap. Checked September 2, 2026.
Cheapest 25 of 115 priced plans, average
| Plan | Per year | vs cheapest | Effective |
|---|---|---|---|
| Residential Smart Pricing Pilot Weekday Value Plan - Single Phase (Closed)time-of-use · closed to new customers | $175.98 | −$77.94 | 14.4¢ |
| Residential Smart Pricing Pilot Weekday Value Plan - Three Phase (Closed)time-of-use · closed to new customers | $175.98 | −$77.94 | 22.3¢ |
| Residential TOD (Option B - Currently Closed)time-of-use · closed to new customers | $190.95 | −$62.97 | 15.4¢ |
| Residential Lifeline Rate Discounttiered · lifeline rate | $191.04 | −$62.88 | 13.7¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region P; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $250.09 | −$3.83 | 15.1¢ |
| Residential Service✓ cheapestflat rate | $253.92 | — | 18.2¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region R; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $257.03 | +$3.11 | 15.2¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region S; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $258.78 | +$4.86 | 15.2¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region X; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $261.69 | +$7.77 | 13.8¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region W; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $269.26 | +$15.34 | 15.4¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region Y; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $273.09 | +$19.17 | 15.4¢ |
| E-6 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region Y; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $288.94 | +$35.02 | 17.9¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region Q; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $310.35 | +$56.43 | 16.6¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region V; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $315.85 | +$61.93 | 16.3¢ |
| Residential Service (R1A): Zone 1 - Tier 1 (Less than 350 kWh)time-of-use · a single tier of a larger tariff | $333.69 | +$79.77 | 20.7¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region T; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $352.29 | +$98.37 | 17.5¢ |
| Residential Multi-Family (R-3)time-of-use · demand charge | $361.79 | +$107.87 | 22.0¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region Z; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $367.25 | +$113.33 | 17.9¢ |
| Residential Time of Use (R1B)time-of-use | $378.92 | +$125.00 | 24.5¢ |
| R-2 Low-Income Residential Servicetime-of-use · tiered · low-income rate | $380.52 | +$126.60 | 15.7¢ |
| Residential Service (R1A): Zone 2time-of-use · tiered | $400.20 | +$146.28 | 24.2¢ |
| E-TOU Option B - Residential Time of Use Service (All Baseline Regions)time-of-use | $401.06 | +$147.14 | 24.4¢ |
| E-6 -Residential Time of Use- Baseline Region P; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $403.04 | +$149.12 | 23.5¢ |
| Residential Service (R1A): Zone 1time-of-use · tiered | $406.00 | +$152.08 | 24.3¢ |
| REV-1 Experimental Electric Vehicle Programtime-of-use · tiered · experimental | $407.76 | +$153.84 | 19.3¢ |
90 further schedules are published and priced but not listed here — mostly regional and seasonal variants of the plans above. The dearest of them costs $852.57 a year at this usage.
Cost across usage levels
The cheapest plan at each consumption level, showing whether the ranking holds as usage changes.
- Lighter use — cheapest $86.64 (Residential Service), dearest $290.67, a $204.03 spread
- Average — cheapest $253.92 (Residential Service), dearest $852.57, a $598.65 spread
- Heavier use — cheapest $340.80 (Residential Service), dearest $1,144.13, a $803.33 spread
What air conditioning costs here
Across 115 plans priced in California, air conditioning adds $253.92 to $852.57 a year — $21.16 to $71.05 a month. The median plan puts air conditioning at $626.60 a year.
Cheapest for air conditioning: Residential Service, City of Redding, California (Utility Company). Dearest: DR - Coastal Baseline Region, San Diego Gas & Electric Co.
Those 1,646 kWh are billed at 15.4¢–51.8¢, against a 39.5¢ whole-bill average on the median plan: they land in the last tier the household reaches, so the average rate understates them by up to 12.3¢ per kWh.
What California homes use
EIA's 2020 residential survey found 1,646 kWh a year across 840 sampled homes that run one, 29% under the national 2,318 kWh. The middle half spans 561 kWh to 2,208 kWh, so air conditioning varies by 1,647 kWh between one household and another.
All electricity used for cooling — central systems, heat pumps in cooling mode, and window or wall units — plus the air handler that runs with them. That average covers homes with air conditioning — 72% of homes here, against 89% nationally.
That makes air conditioning about 25% of the electricity a California home uses. The remaining 4,836 kWh is what air conditioning is billed on top of, and on a tiered or time-of-use plan that is what sets the rate it meets.
By provider
On each California provider's cheapest plan: City of Redding, California (Utility Company), $253.92; Los Angeles Department of Water & Power, $361.79; Pacific Gas & Electric Co, $401.06; City & County of San Francisco (Utility Company), $543.66; San Diego Gas & Electric Co, $626.88.
San Diego Gas & Electric Co charges $372.96 a year more than City of Redding, California (Utility Company) on Residential Service for the same 1,646 kWh.
Light and heavy use of air conditioning
A household in the lighter quarter runs air conditioning for 561 kWh a year and pays $86.64 on the cheapest plan. One in the heavier quarter runs it for 2,208 kWh and pays $340.80 — $254.16 more for air conditioning on the same tariff.
Limits
A 2020 survey average for California, not a measurement of any one home, priced against the 115 California tariffs WattClear has ingested — not every plan sold there.
New to these terms? The methodology page explains tiered bands, time-of-use periods and fixed charges, and sets out exactly what the rate engine assumes.
Estimate — your actual bill may differ.
Tariff structures from NREL/OpenEI Utility Rate Database (CC0 1.0), retrieved September 2, 2026.
Location resolved through the US Census Bureau Geocoder (Public domain) at 40.5865, -122.3917.