How much does it cost to run a grow light?
EIA data · June 2026About $11.71 a month at the U.S. average price of 18.34¢ per kilowatt-hour — but that figure moves a long way depending on where you live. Set your state below.
63.9 kWh a month at the U.S. average, 18.34¢/kWh for June 2026. Excludes fixed charges, taxes and time-of-use rates, which vary by utility and are on your bill.
Typical 20–1,000 W. Use the figure on your own label if you have it.
A grow light sits mid-table at #20 of 88, which means something else in the house costs more. See whether lighting or something else drives your bill.
Every figure here is priced per kilowatt-hour. What a kilowatt-hour actually is.
How many watts a grow light uses
Small LED panels for houseplants draw 20–50 W. Full-spectrum LED fixtures for serious indoor growing are 100–400 W, and legacy HID lamps reach 600–1,000 W.
- Low
- 20 W
- Typical
- 150 W
- High
- 1,000 W
What it costs across the country
Same appliance, same usage, different electricity price. Annual cost at 150 W and the default usage above.
| State | ¢/kWh | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| Hawaii | 52.72 | $404 |
| California | 34.74 | $266 |
| Massachusetts | 29.61 | $227 |
| New York | 29.49 | $226 |
| Ohio | 19.19 | $147 |
| Texas | 15.94 | $122 |
| Florida | 15.10 | $116 |
| Utah | 13.37 | $102 |
| Nebraska | 13.25 | $102 |
| Nevada | 13.11 | $100 |
Worth knowing
- Grow lights run far longer than household lighting — 12 to 18 hours a day — so hours dominate the cost entirely.
- Advertised wattage on cheap LED panels is frequently the theoretical maximum of the diodes, not the draw at the wall; the power supply rating is the more honest number.
- HID lamps also produce enough heat to change a room's cooling load, a cost that never appears on the lamp's label.
Other appliances
- Light bulb
- LED strip lights
- Outdoor security light
- Christmas lights
- Space heater
- Central air conditioner
- Window air conditioner
- Electric water heater
Prices are statewide residential averages for June 2026 from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. They exclude fixed monthly charges, taxes and time-of-use rates. See how these figures are calculated.