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How much does it cost to run an electric shower?

Work out what any appliance costs to run per use, per month and per year on your own electricity rate — including what it draws on standby.

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Using the UK average of 26.32p/kWh — Ofgem, 1 October to 31 December 2026.

Rated power is stamped on the unit — 7.5 kW, 8.5 kW and 9.5 kW are the common sizes.

Wattage is on the rating plate or in the manual. Washing machines and dishwashers usually quote kWh per cycle instead.
Usage
W
min
kWh
Your tariff
p/kWh
On your bill or in your online account. If you do not know it, the average for your area is filled in already.
W
Leave at 0 if you unplug it. Most things with a clock, light or remote draw 0.5–3 W.
Cost per use £0.30
Cost per year £217
Cost per month £18.10
Energy per use 1.13 kWh
Energy per year 825 kWh
Of which standby £0.00

Common cases

What drives the cost

An electric shower is one of the highest-power things in a house — commonly 8.5 to 10.5 kW, several times a kettle — but it runs for only a few minutes. That combination catches people out in both directions: the per-shower cost is smaller than the alarming power rating suggests, while a household of four showering daily adds up to a meaningful annual figure.

Because the unit heats water on demand at a fixed rate, the only levers are time and flow. A minute less per shower, or a lower-flow head, translates almost linearly into cost. Turning the temperature down does not save anything directly on most units — they simply mix in more cold water at the same power draw.

How this is worked out

Electricity is billed per kilowatt hour. An appliance's kilowatt hours are its power in kilowatts multiplied by the hours it runs — so a 2,000 W appliance running for 30 minutes uses 1 kWh. Multiply that by your unit rate and you have the cost. The standing charge is not included here because you pay it whether or not you switch anything on.

What this assumes

  • The appliance draws its rated power for the whole time it is on. Anything thermostatically controlled — ovens, heaters, fridges — cycles on and off, so the real figure is lower.
  • Your unit rate stays flat all day. On a time-of-use tariff the same appliance costs materially different amounts depending on when you run it.
  • A year is 52 weeks of identical use, which overstates seasonal appliances and understates ones you use in bursts.

Questions

Is an electric shower cheaper than a bath?

For a typical shower of five to ten minutes, yes, and usually by a wide margin — a bath needs 100 litres or more of hot water. A long shower can close the gap entirely.

Where do I find the power rating?

It is printed on the unit itself, usually on the front panel or inside the cover, as a kW figure. 7.5, 8.5, 9.5 and 10.5 kW are the common sizes.

Does this include the standing charge?

No, and deliberately. The standing charge is a fixed daily fee for being connected at all, so it does not change when you run an appliance more or less. Including it would make every appliance look more expensive than it is.

Where do I find the wattage?

On the rating plate — usually a sticker on the back, base or inside the door — or in the manual. It is written as W or kW. If it only quotes amps, multiply amps by 230 to get watts.

Why is my bill higher than the total this gives?

Because this prices one appliance. Heating, hot water and the constant background draw of everything left plugged in usually make up more of a bill than the appliances people think to check.

Related tools

Sources

Rates from Ofgem for 1 October to 31 December 2026. Last reviewed 3 September 2026.