How Many kWh Does a House Use? Pennsylvania Averages
If you’re asking how many kWh does a house use, you probably just found the “kWh used” line on your PPL or PECO bill and want to know if your number is normal. The average U.S. home uses about 863 kWh per month, and the average Pennsylvania home uses about 817 kWh per month, based on EIA’s 2024 data. A kWh, or kilowatt-hour, is the unit your utility bills you by. It equals running 1,000 watts for one hour.
So if your bill says 900, you’re a little above the Pennsylvania average. Not by much. Where your electricity usage lands depends mostly on how you heat your home, and that’s where Pennsylvania gets interesting.
Average home electricity use by day, month, and year
The average U.S. home uses about 863 kWh per month, roughly 28 kWh per day or 10,400 kWh per year.
The average Pennsylvania home uses about 817 kWh per month, about 27 kWh per day or 9,800 kWh per year.
Average residential electricity use in 2024, EIA data
State | kWh per month | kWh per day | kWh per year | Avg. price per kWh | Avg. monthly bill |
Pennsylvania | 817 | about 27 | about 9,800 | 17.77¢ | $145.17 |
U.S. average | 863 | about 28 | about 10,360 | 16.48¢ | $142.26 |
Ohio | 846 | about 28 | about 10,150 | 15.99¢ | $135.16 |
New York | 571 | about 19 | about 6,850 | 24.43¢ | $139.53 |
Source is EIA Electric Sales, Revenue, and Average Price, Table 5A, 2024 data.
Hot Southern states pull the national average up. Louisiana homes average around 1,200 kWh a month and Texas homes around 1,100, because they run air conditioning for much of the year and lean on electric heat in winter.
You may see Pennsylvania listed at 832 kWh on other sites. EIA’s 2024 table is the official figure, and it shows 817.
kWh vs. kW vs. watts and what your bill measures
A watt measures power at a single moment. A kilowatt, or kW, is 1,000 watts. A kilowatt-hour, or kWh, is the energy used by running 1 kW for one hour.
A 100-watt bulb left on for 10 hours uses 1 kWh.
So how many watts does the average home use? A typical Pennsylvania home draws about 1,100 watts around the clock. That’s 9,800 kWh spread across the 8,760 hours in a year.
Average continuous draw. About 1.1 to 1.2 kW, all day and night.
Peak demand. About 5 to 20 kW, for short stretches when big appliances overlap.
That also answers how many kW it takes to power a house. If you’re thinking about solar, though, the number that matters is annual kWh, covered in the solar sizing section below.
Why Pennsylvania homes use less electricity than the U.S. average
Many Pennsylvania homes heat with natural gas or heating oil. That winter heating shows up on the gas or oil bill, not the electric bill. Southern homes lean on electric heat and run air conditioning for months, so their electric bills carry both loads.
Now the catch. If your home runs on a heat pump, electric baseboard heat, or space heaters, winter can be your biggest month of the year. An all-electric house in Pittsburgh or Scranton can sit well above 817 kWh from December through February.
Which home is yours?
- Gas or oil heat with central AC. Usage peaks in July and August and drops through the winter. Most of these homes land near or below 817 kWh a month.
- Heat pump. You get two peaks, one for summer cooling and one for winter heating. Cold snaps push winter higher because a heat pump uses more power below freezing.
- Electric baseboard or space heaters. Winter dominates. A January bill can run two or three times a spring month.
Pennsylvania’s two peaks are July and August for central air conditioning and January and February for electric heat. Compare each bill with the same month last year, not with the national average.
Older houses add kWh too. A lot of homes around Pittsburgh, York, Lancaster, and the Philadelphia suburbs went up before modern insulation codes. Drafty attics and aging HVAC systems make heating and cooling equipment run longer.
How many kWh does a house use by home size?
Estimated monthly kWh by home size
Home size or added load | kWh per day | kWh per month |
Under 1,000 sq ft or apartment | 15 to 20 | 450 to 600 |
1,000 to 1,500 sq ft | 20 to 25 | 600 to 750 |
1,500 to 2,500 sq ft | 25 to 33 | 750 to 1,000 |
2,500+ sq ft | 33 to 45 | 1,000 to 1,350 |
Add an EV | +10 to 13 | +300 to 400 |
Add a heat pump in place of a gas furnace, December to February | +13 to 33 | +400 to 1,000 |
Add a pool pump, summer only | +5 to 10 | +150 to 300 |
A 2,000 sq ft house uses roughly 28 to 33 kWh per day nationally, or about 850 to 1,000 kWh a month. A gas-heated 2,000 sq ft home in Pennsylvania often comes in a little lower. Per square foot, most homes land around 0.4 to 0.5 kWh a month.
Treat square footage as a rough guide. Heating fuel, the number of people in the house, and daily energy habits move your electricity usage more than size does.
What uses the most electricity in a home?
Air conditioning is the single biggest electric load in the average U.S. home, followed by space heating and water heating.
Typical share of home electricity use, U.S. homes
Category | Share of use | Approx. kWh per year |
Air conditioning | 19% | 2,000 |
Space heating, electric | 12% | 1,260 |
Electric water heaters | 12% | 1,260 |
Refrigerators and freezers | about 8% | 840 |
TVs and electronics | about 6% | 630 |
Lighting | about 5% | 525 |
Clothes dryer | about 5% | 525 |
Ovens and cooking | about 3% | 315 |
Washing machines and dishwasher | about 2% | 210 |
EV charging | Only homes with an EV | 3,000 to 4,000 per EV |
Top three shares from EIA’s Residential Energy Consumption Survey, 2020. kWh figures assume a 10,500 kWh home.
In a gas-heated Pennsylvania home, air conditioning and water heating usually lead the list. In a heat pump or baseboard home, space heating jumps to the top. That’s also why upgrading to energy-efficient appliances pays off most on the loads at the top of your own list.
How to find your home's actual kWh usage
Read it off your electric bill
Daily kWh = the kWh on your bill ÷ the number of days in the billing period.
Utility bills from PPL, PECO, Duquesne Light, Met-Ed, and West Penn Power all show your kWh near the meter readings, and most include a bar chart of the past year. A 30-day bill showing 810 kWh works out to 27 kWh a day. Add up 12 months of bills to get your annual total. That’s the number a solar consultant will ask for first.
Check your smart meter portal
Pennsylvania’s large utilities have installed smart meters across their territories. Most let you see daily or even hourly electricity usage in your online account. It’s the fastest way to find the week your heat pump switched to backup heat or the AC never shut off.
Estimate a single appliance
kWh per day = watts × hours used per day ÷ 1,000.
A 1,500-watt space heater running 6 hours a day uses about 9 kWh a day. Over a month, that’s roughly 270 kWh, or close to $48 at Pennsylvania’s 2024 average rate.
What your kWh usage costs in Pennsylvania
Your bill comes down to kWh used × your price per kWh. At Pennsylvania’s 2024 average of 17.77¢ per kWh, the average home’s 817 kWh costs about $145 a month. A hot 1,200 kWh August at the same rate runs about $213.
Your actual rate depends on where you buy supply. Pennsylvania is deregulated, so you either pay your utility’s Price to Compare, the default supply rate printed on your bill, or the rate from a supplier you picked. The Price to Compare changes on a set schedule, and you can compare supplier offers on PAPowerSwitch.com, the state’s official shopping site.
For a closer look by utility, see our guides to Pennsylvania electricity rates and the average electric bill in Pennsylvania.
Using your kWh number to size solar and battery backup
Your annual kWh is where every solar design starts. In Pennsylvania, each kW of panels produces roughly 1,150 to 1,250 kWh a year, depending on roof direction, tilt, and shade. Divide your yearly usage by that number for a ballpark system size. The average PA home’s 9,800 kWh works out to about an 8 to 8.5 kW system.
Panel count and roof layout come next. Our guide to how many solar panels it takes to power a house walks through that math, and how many kWh a solar panel can generate covers production per panel. Winter output drops, but panels still produce on cold, clear days, as we explain in do solar panels work in the winter.
Where the savings come from
With net metering, your utility credits you for extra power your panels send to the grid during the day. You draw those credits back at night and on cloudy days.
Pennsylvania also has an SREC market. An SREC, or Solar Renewable Energy Credit, is earned for every 1,000 kWh your system produces, and it can be sold. At $30 to $40 per SREC as of October 2026, a system producing 9,800 kWh a year could earn roughly $290 to $390 a year. SREC prices move with the market, so treat that range as a snapshot. Our PA solar SREC program guide has the details.
How you pay for it
- Solar lease. A company owns the system, and you pay a set monthly amount to use it.
- PPA. A PPA, or power purchase agreement, means a company owns the system and you pay a set rate for each kWh it produces.
- Loan or cash. You own the system, and incentives like SRECs go to you.
Leases and PPAs can start at $0 upfront, subject to qualification and credit approval, but they come with monthly payments. Most run 20 to 25 years, may include an annual escalator, and transfer to the buyer if you sell.
The federal residential tax credit ended for systems placed in service after December 31, 2025, so cash and loan buyers in 2026 get no federal credit. Leased and PPA systems may still qualify under Section 48E, which the system owner claims. Incentives change, so we confirm them at your assessment, and a tax professional can speak to your situation.
Battery backup
Your daily kWh also tells you how much battery storage makes sense. A Tesla Powerwall 3 stores 13.5 kWh. If your fridge, furnace fan, sump pump, lights, and Wi-Fi use 10 to 15 kWh overnight, one Powerwall can keep them running through a typical outage. That’s the idea behind “No Power? No Problem!” Learn more on our solar battery storage page.
Solar can reduce or offset your electric bill. Results vary based on system size, sun exposure, local utility rates, and available incentives.
How to lower your home's kWh usage
In older Pennsylvania homes, start at the top of the house.
- Seal and insulate the attic. In older homes, it’s often the biggest win.
- Weatherstrip doors and windows. It’s cheap and cuts the drafts that keep your HVAC running.
- Use a smart thermostat. The U.S. Department of Energy says setting it back 7 to 10°F for 8 hours a day can save up to 10% on heating and cooling.
- Choose Energy Star replacements. Start with the fridge, dryer, and water heater as they wear out.
- Book a utility energy audit. Pennsylvania’s large utilities run Act 129 efficiency programs with discounted audits and rebates.
- Tweak your habits. Run full loads, and unplug the mostly empty fridge in the garage.
Our post on ways to decrease your electric bill in Pennsylvania has the full list.
Know your number, then plan around it
Once you know how many kWh your house uses, you know your starting point. During Discovery, an Ethical Energy consultant reviews 12 months of your bills, then moves through Design, Solar Installation, and Start Saving with a residential solar system built around how your home actually uses power. We’re a Silfab Solar registered installer, every system carries our 25-year performance guarantee, and our teams work out of real offices in York and Pittsburgh.
Get Your Free Solar Assessment from Ethical Energy or call (717) 594-0003. No pressure, just your numbers.
Frequently Asked Questions
The average U.S. home uses about 28 to 29 kWh a day, and the average Pennsylvania home uses about 27. A bigger house, more people, central air, an EV, or electric heat all push that higher. A small gas-heated home or apartment can run 15 to 20 kWh a day.
Not for most Pennsylvania houses. Thirty kWh a day is about 900 kWh a month, a little above the state average and normal for a 2,000 sq ft home in summer. For an apartment or a small home, 30 kWh a day is high and worth a closer look.
No. Twenty kWh a day is about 600 kWh a month, which is below the Pennsylvania average of 817. That’s typical for a smaller home, an apartment, or a gas-heated house with efficient appliances and few people. Many larger homes would be happy to hit 20 kWh in spring.
A 2,000 sq ft house typically uses about 850 to 1,000 kWh a month nationally. In Pennsylvania, a gas-heated home that size often lands a bit lower. Add a heat pump or baseboard heat and winter months can climb well past 1,500 kWh.
An average Pennsylvania home draws about 1.1 to 1.2 kW, or 1,100 to 1,200 watts, around the clock. When several big appliances run at once, demand can briefly reach 5 to 20 kW. Your wiring and service panel handle those peaks. Your bill counts the total kWh.
It depends on what you mean. A 12 kW standby generator can run most of a typical home, though maybe not central AC, an electric range, and a dryer at the same time. A 12 kW solar system is a different measure. In Pennsylvania, it produces roughly 14,000 kWh a year, more than most homes use.
The most common causes are the season, a new appliance or EV, a space heater, or a heat pump running on backup heat during a cold snap. A failing HVAC system or water heater can also burn extra power. Compare against the same month last year, then see why your electric bill is so high in Pennsylvania.
