Ceiling fan vs whole-house fan: which costs less to run?
$84 a year less with ceiling fan
- Ceiling fan, a month
- $5.36
- Whole-house fan, a month
- $22.09
- Difference, a month
- $16.74
Both run 8 hours a day, May to September. At the US average of 18.3¢ per kWh (EIA, June 2026). How we calculate this
Side by side
| Ceiling fan | Whole-house fan | |
|---|---|---|
| Power | 120 W | 495 W |
| An hour | $0.02 | $0.09 |
| A day | $0.18 | $0.73 |
| A month | $5.36 | $22.09 |
| A year | $26.94 | $111.12 |
| Energy a year | 147 kWh | 606 kWh |
In the 10 largest states
Questions
Is it cheaper to run a ceiling fan or a whole-house fan?
Ceiling fan costs $84.18 less a year ($16.74 a month) at the US average rate. Both run 8 hours a day, May to September.
How much more does whole-house fan cost to run?
About 4.1 times as much: $111.12 a year versus $26.94.
How much does a ceiling fan cost per hour?
$0.02 an hour, against $0.09 an hour for a whole-house fan, at 18.3¢ per kWh.
Does the answer change by state?
The ratio between the two stays the same everywhere because both use the same electricity; the dollar gap grows where rates are higher. See the table of the 10 most populous states above.
Sources
- Virginia Cooperative Extension: Estimating appliance and home electronic energy use (reproduces U.S. Department of Energy sample wattages)
- Penn State EGEE 102: Typical range of power consumption (wattage)
- U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.6.A: average price of electricity to ultimate customers, residential, June 2026 Figures transcribed from republications of this table on September 26, 2026; pending direct verification from the EIA API.
Usage assumptions (hours a day, season) are ours and listed on the methodology page. Found an error? Tell us.