Well Pump Electricity Cost Calculator
Enter your pump's horsepower and how many gallons your household uses a day, and get the cost per day, month and year in your state.
Well pump cost
A18Scenario A
Sets the electricity rate. Pick US average if you're not sure.
From EIA for US average. Use the rate on your bill if you know it.
Rate used: 18.4¢/kWh · US average · EIA reference 2025–26 (data as of 2026-09-26) ·
On the pump's control box or the well installer's paperwork.
Estimated cost per month
- Pump watts (HP × 746 ÷ 0.75)995 W
- Run hours per day (10 gpm)0.50
Per year assumes the same use every day.
Estimate. Formula and sources are under “How it works”. Change any input; the result updates as you type.
Formula
How it works
- Watts = HP × 746 ÷ 0.75
- Pump hours per day = gallons per day ÷ 10 gallons per minute ÷ 60
- kWh per day = watts ÷ 1,000 × pump hours
- Cost per month = kWh per day × 30 × rate
One horsepower is 746 W of output; the motor and pump together are about 75% efficient, so a 1 HP submersible pump draws about 1,000 W from the wall. At a typical 10 gallons per minute, it runs 1 to 2 hours a day for a household's water. Deep wells and leaks make it run longer. The surge when the motor starts doesn't meaningfully add to your kWh.
Sources: 746 W per HP; combined motor-and-pump efficiency 0.75 and typical flow 10 gpm (Home Kilowatt spec assumptions, editable in a future version). Electricity rate: EIA Electric Power Monthly table 5.6.A.
Worked example
A worked example
A 1.5 HP pump draws 1.5 × 746 ÷ 0.75 = 1,492 W. Pumping 600 gallons at 10 gpm takes 1.00 hour a day, so it uses 1.49 kWh a day. At the Texas rate of 15.5¢/kWh that's $0.23 a day, $6.94 a month and $84.41 a year.
Reference
Reference table
Well pump cost per month at 18.4¢/kWh (US average), 10 gpm
| 200 gal | 300 gal | 600 gal | 1,000 gal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.5 HP | $0.92 | $1.37 | $2.75 | $4.58 |
| 1 HP | $1.83 | $2.75 | $5.49 | $9.15 |
| 1.5 HP | $2.75 | $4.12 | $8.24 | $13.73 |
| 2 HP | $3.66 | $5.49 | $10.98 | $18.30 |
Questions
FAQ
How much does a well pump add to my electric bill?
At the US average rate of 18.4¢/kWh, a 1 HP pump supplying 300 gallons a day costs an estimated $2.75 a month. In California at 32.0¢/kWh, a 0.5 HP pump supplying 200 gallons comes to $1.59.
What are signs my well pump is running too much?
The pump cycling on when no one is using water, a pressure tank that cycles every few seconds, or a jump in your electric bill with no other explanation. A leak or a failed tank bladder makes the pump run longer and raises its cost in proportion.
Does a constant-pressure pump cost more to run?
We don't model variable-speed pumps yet. The energy still follows the water: gallons pumped times the power per gallon. For a constant-pressure model, enter the manufacturer's watts in the Appliance calculator with your estimated run hours.
Why doesn't the calculator ask for pump hours?
Most people don't know them, but they do know roughly how much water they use. The calculator converts gallons to hours at a typical 10 gallons per minute.
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