What electric space heating costs to run in Ohio
Ohio homes use 3,437 kWh a year on electric space heating. Priced on top of the rest of the bill, that costs $242.17 to $339.00 a year across 3 published Ohio plans — a $96.83 gap. Checked September 2, 2026.
Every priced plan, average
| Plan | Per year | vs cheapest | Effective |
|---|---|---|---|
| Residential✓ cheapesttime-of-use · tiered | $242.17 | — | 7.0¢ |
| Residential (KW11)flat rate | $287.76 | +$45.59 | 9.6¢ |
| Residential (KW10)flat rate | $339.00 | +$96.83 | 11.1¢ |
Cost across usage levels
The cheapest plan at each consumption level, showing whether the ranking holds as usage changes.
- Lighter use — cheapest $35.98 (Residential), dearest $50.28, a $14.30 spread
- Average — cheapest $242.17 (Residential), dearest $339.00, a $96.83 spread
- Heavier use — cheapest $346.02 (Residential), dearest $484.44, a $138.42 spread
What electric space heating costs here
Across 3 plans priced in Ohio, electric space heating adds $242.17 to $339.00 a year — $20.18 to $28.25 a month. The median plan puts electric space heating at $287.76 a year.
Cheapest for electric space heating: Residential, City of Cleveland, Ohio (Utility Company). Dearest: Residential (KW10), City of Columbus, Ohio (Utility Company).
Those 3,437 kWh are billed at 7.0¢–9.9¢, against a 9.6¢ 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 0.2¢ per kWh.
What Ohio homes use
EIA's 2020 residential survey found 3,437 kWh a year across 156 sampled homes that run one, 1.38× the national 2,484 kWh. The middle half spans 510 kWh to 4,911 kWh, so electric space heating varies by 4,401 kWh between one household and another.
All electricity used for space heating, including the furnace or heat-pump compressor and the air handler that moves the heat around the house. That average covers homes heated with electricity — 47% of homes here.
That makes electric space heating about 33% of the electricity an Ohio home uses. The remaining 6,842 kWh is what electric space heating 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 Ohio provider's cheapest plan: City of Cleveland, Ohio (Utility Company), $242.17; City of Columbus, Ohio (Utility Company), $287.76.
City of Columbus, Ohio (Utility Company) charges $45.59 a year more than City of Cleveland, Ohio (Utility Company) on Residential for the same 3,437 kWh.
Light and heavy use of electric space heating
A household in the lighter quarter runs electric space heating for 510 kWh a year and pays $35.98 on the cheapest plan. One in the heavier quarter runs it for 4,911 kWh and pays $346.02 — $310.04 more for electric space heating on the same tariff.
Limits
A 2020 survey average for Ohio, not a measurement of any one home, priced against the 3 Ohio 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 41.4993, -81.6944.