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

Entertainment · Indiana

How Much Does It Cost to Run a Gaming PC in Indiana?

The short answer

Running a 500W gaming PC in Indiana costs about $0.08 an hour. At 4 hours a day, that’s roughly $10.18 a month and $122 a year.

Indiana’s average residential rate was 16.7¢ per kWh in July 2026 (EIA), 9% below the US average.

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

Gaming PC cost by daily use in Indiana

Cost at 16.7¢/kWh, the Indiana average (EIA, Jul 2026)
Daily usekWh/monthPer dayPer monthPer year
1 hour/day 15.2 $0.08 $2.54 $30.53
2 hours/day 30.4 $0.17 $5.09 $61.06
4 hours/day 60.8 $0.33 $10.18 $122
8 hours/day 121.7 $0.67 $20.36 $244
12 hours/day 182.5 $1.00 $30.54 $366
24 hours/day 365.0 $2.01 $61.07 $733

Indiana vs other states

At typical use, a gaming PC costs $122 a year in Indiana — $228 less than in Hawaii and $29.27 more than in Louisiana.

Indiana has the 23rd-most-expensive residential electricity of the 50 states and DC. Indiana electricity rates · all states ranked

Electricity price trend in Indiana

16.7¢/kWh in July 2026 — ▲ +3.4% from a year earlier.

How to lower the cost of running a gaming PC

A gaming PC's power draw depends on the GPU and CPU and on how demanding the game is. A mid-range build typically pulls around 400–500W from the wall during gaming, while high-end systems with top-tier graphics cards can exceed 700–800W. Idle and desktop use is much lower, often 60–120W. The monitor adds another 30–80W.

  • Cap frame rates to your monitor's refresh rate — rendering frames you can't see wastes power.
  • Use your GPU's power-limit or efficiency settings for a large power cut with a small performance loss.
  • Set the PC to sleep after 15–30 minutes of inactivity.

Questions

Frequently asked questions

How much does it cost to run a gaming PC for 24 hours in Indiana?

Running a 500W gaming PC for 24 hours uses about 12.0 kWh, which costs about $2.01 at Indiana’s average rate of 16.7¢/kWh.

How many kWh does a gaming PC use per month?

At 4 hours a day, a typical gaming PC uses about 60.8 kWh a month. In Indiana that costs $10.18.

Is it expensive to run a gaming PC in Indiana?

Indiana has the 23rd-most-expensive residential electricity of the 50 states and DC at 16.7¢/kWh — close to the middle of the pack. Running a gaming PC here costs about $122 a year at typical use, compared with $134 at the national average rate.

What is the electricity rate in Indiana right now?

The average residential electricity rate in Indiana was 16.7¢ per kWh in July 2026, according to the latest EIA data — up 3.4% from a year earlier.

Does a gaming PC use more electricity than a console?

Usually yes. A typical gaming PC draws 2–3 times more than a PS5 or Xbox Series X while gaming.

Sources & method