U.S. residential electricity EIA data: July 2026 US average 18.3¢/kWh Updated
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Home Office · Delaware

How Much Does It Cost to Run a Desktop Computer in Delaware?

The short answer

A typical 150W desktop computer costs about $0.03 per hour to run in Delaware, or $6.75 a month at 8 hours a day.

The estimate uses Delaware’s average residential electricity price of 18.5¢/kWh from EIA (July 2026) — about the same as the national average.

Source: U.S. EIA, July 2026 data · Updated

Desktop Computer cost by daily use in Delaware

Cost at 18.5¢/kWh, the Delaware average (EIA, Jul 2026)
Daily usekWh/monthPer dayPer monthPer year
1 hour/day 4.6 $0.03 $0.84 $10.12
2 hours/day 9.1 $0.06 $1.69 $20.24
4 hours/day 18.3 $0.11 $3.37 $40.47
8 hours/day 36.5 $0.22 $6.75 $80.94
12 hours/day 54.8 $0.33 $10.12 $121
24 hours/day 109.5 $0.67 $20.24 $243

Delaware vs other states

At typical use, a desktop computer costs $80.94 a year in Delaware — $129 less than in Hawaii and $25.23 more than in Louisiana.

Delaware has the 19th-most-expensive residential electricity of the 50 states and DC. Delaware electricity rates · all states ranked

Electricity price trend in Delaware

18.5¢/kWh in July 2026 — ▲ +11.5% from a year earlier.

How to lower the cost of running a desktop computer

Everyday desktop use — browsing, documents, video calls — is light work for a modern PC, so most office desktops plus a monitor draw around 100–200W. Workstations rendering video or running heavy software use more. Sleep mode drops consumption to just a few watts, so letting the computer sleep when you step away makes a real difference over a year.

  • Set the computer to sleep after 15–30 minutes and the display after 5–10 minutes.
  • Turn off the whole setup with a power strip at the end of the day.
  • Lower monitor brightness — it often accounts for a big share of the total.

Questions

Frequently asked questions

How much does it cost to run a desktop computer for 24 hours in Delaware?

Running a 150W desktop computer for 24 hours uses about 3.60 kWh, which costs about $0.67 at Delaware’s average rate of 18.5¢/kWh.

How many kWh does a desktop computer use per month?

At 8 hours a day, a typical desktop computer uses about 36.5 kWh a month. In Delaware that costs $6.75.

Is it expensive to run a desktop computer in Delaware?

Delaware has the 19th-most-expensive residential electricity of the 50 states and DC at 18.5¢/kWh — pricier than most. Running a desktop computer here costs about $80.94 a year at typical use, compared with $80.20 at the national average rate.

What is the electricity rate in Delaware right now?

The average residential electricity rate in Delaware was 18.5¢ per kWh in July 2026, according to the latest EIA data — up 11.5% from a year earlier.

Desktop Computer costs in nearby states

Cheapest and priciest states

Comparisons

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