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

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

The short answer

In Tennessee, a desktop computer drawing 150W costs about $0.02 per hour — roughly $5.00 a month if it runs 8 hours a day.

That’s based on Tennessee’s average residential rate of 13.7¢/kWh (EIA, July 2026), 25% below the US average.

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

Desktop Computer cost by daily use in Tennessee

Cost at 13.7¢/kWh, the Tennessee average (EIA, Jul 2026)
Daily usekWh/monthPer dayPer monthPer year
1 hour/day 4.6 $0.02 $0.63 $7.51
2 hours/day 9.1 $0.04 $1.25 $15.01
4 hours/day 18.3 $0.08 $2.50 $30.02
8 hours/day 36.5 $0.16 $5.00 $60.05
12 hours/day 54.8 $0.25 $7.51 $90.07
24 hours/day 109.5 $0.49 $15.01 $180

Tennessee vs other states

At typical use, a desktop computer costs $60.05 a year in Tennessee — $150 less than in Hawaii and $4.34 more than in Louisiana.

Tennessee has the 5th-cheapest residential electricity of the 50 states and DC. Tennessee price per kWh · all states ranked

Electricity price trend in Tennessee

13.7¢/kWh in July 2026 — ▲ +3.8% 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 Tennessee?

Running a 150W desktop computer for 24 hours uses about 3.60 kWh, which costs about $0.49 at Tennessee’s average rate of 13.7¢/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 Tennessee that costs $5.00.

Is it expensive to run a desktop computer in Tennessee?

Tennessee has the 5th-cheapest residential electricity of the 50 states and DC at 13.7¢/kWh — one of the cheapest. Running a desktop computer here costs about $60.05 a year at typical use, compared with $80.20 at the national average rate.

What is the electricity rate in Tennessee right now?

The average residential electricity rate in Tennessee was 13.7¢ per kWh in July 2026, according to the latest EIA data — up 3.8% from a year earlier.

Desktop Computer costs in nearby states

Cheapest and priciest states

Comparisons

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