What a humidifier costs to run in California
California homes use 86 kWh a year on a humidifier. Priced on top of the rest of the bill, that costs $13.32 to $44.76 a year across 115 published California plans — a $31.44 gap. Checked September 2, 2026.
Not indexed. This page does not yet meet the site’s own publication threshold — 84.2% similar to /cost-to-run/electric-stove/california, limit 82%. It is shown because the data behind it is real, not because it is complete.
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 | $9.22 | −$4.10 | 14.4¢ |
| Residential Smart Pricing Pilot Weekday Value Plan - Three Phase (Closed)time-of-use · closed to new customers | $9.22 | −$4.10 | 22.3¢ |
| Residential Lifeline Rate Discounttiered · lifeline rate | $9.96 | −$3.36 | 13.7¢ |
| Residential TOD (Option B - Currently Closed)time-of-use · closed to new customers | $10.00 | −$3.32 | 15.4¢ |
| Residential Service✓ cheapestflat rate | $13.32 | — | 18.2¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region P; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $14.37 | +$1.05 | 15.1¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region R; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $14.39 | +$1.07 | 15.2¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region W; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $15.19 | +$1.87 | 15.4¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region S; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $15.30 | +$1.98 | 15.2¢ |
| E-6 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region Y; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $16.02 | +$2.70 | 17.9¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region Y; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $16.37 | +$3.05 | 15.4¢ |
| Residential Service (R1A): Zone 1 - Tier 1 (Less than 350 kWh)time-of-use · a single tier of a larger tariff | $17.49 | +$4.17 | 20.7¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region X; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $17.80 | +$4.48 | 13.8¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region V; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $18.30 | +$4.98 | 16.3¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region Q; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $18.83 | +$5.51 | 16.6¢ |
| Residential Multi-Family (R-3)time-of-use · demand charge | $19.01 | +$5.69 | 22.0¢ |
| Residential Time of Use (R1B)time-of-use | $19.87 | +$6.55 | 24.5¢ |
| R-2 Low-Income Residential Servicetime-of-use · tiered · low-income rate | $19.98 | +$6.66 | 15.7¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region Z; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $20.69 | +$7.37 | 17.9¢ |
| E-7 -Residential Time of Use Baseline Region T; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $20.74 | +$7.42 | 17.5¢ |
| E-TOU Option B - Residential Time of Use Service (All Baseline Regions)time-of-use | $21.06 | +$7.74 | 24.4¢ |
| Residential Service (R1A): Zone 2time-of-use · tiered | $21.28 | +$7.96 | 24.2¢ |
| Residential Service (R1A): Zone 1time-of-use · tiered | $21.28 | +$7.96 | 24.3¢ |
| REV-1 Experimental Electric Vehicle Programtime-of-use · tiered · experimental | $21.36 | +$8.04 | 19.3¢ |
| E-6 -Residential Time of Use- Baseline Region P; Closed Ratetime-of-use · tiered · closed to new customers | $21.46 | +$8.14 | 23.5¢ |
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 $44.76 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 $2.04 (Residential Service), dearest $6.84, a $4.80 spread
- Average — cheapest $13.32 (Residential Service), dearest $44.76, a $31.44 spread
- Heavier use — cheapest $17.16 (Residential Service), dearest $57.60, a $40.44 spread
What a humidifier costs here
Across 115 plans priced in California, a humidifier adds $13.32 to $44.76 a year — $1.11 to $3.73 a month. The median plan puts a humidifier at $32.90 a year.
Cheapest for a humidifier: Residential Service, City of Redding, California (Utility Company). Dearest: DR - Inland Baseline Region, San Diego Gas & Electric Co.
Those 86 kWh are billed at 15.4¢–51.9¢, 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 12.4¢ per kWh.
What California homes use
EIA's 2020 residential survey found 86 kWh a year across 165 sampled homes that run one, 38% under the national 139 kWh. The middle half spans 13 kWh to 111 kWh, so a humidifier varies by 98 kWh between one household and another.
Portable and whole-home humidifiers. That average covers homes with a humidifier — 14% of homes here, against 24% nationally.
That makes a humidifier about 1% of the electricity a California home uses. The remaining 6,395 kWh is what a humidifier 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), $13.32; Los Angeles Department of Water & Power, $19.01; Pacific Gas & Electric Co, $21.06; City & County of San Francisco (Utility Company), $28.50; San Diego Gas & Electric Co, $32.90.
San Diego Gas & Electric Co charges $19.58 a year more than City of Redding, California (Utility Company) on Residential Service for the same 86 kWh.
Light and heavy use of a humidifier
A household in the lighter quarter runs a humidifier for 13 kWh a year and pays $2.04 on the cheapest plan. One in the heavier quarter runs it for 111 kWh and pays $17.16 — $15.12 more for a humidifier 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.