What does a shower cost? The electricity for hot water, per shower
A shower costs electricity only if your hot water is heated electrically. Then it can be one of the larger items.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method and sources
A five-minute shower with a head delivering ten litres a minute equals 1.25 to 1.50 kWh, according to the Swedish Energy Agency. That applies when the hot water is heated by electricity, for example in an electric water heater (varmvattenberedare); with district heating or another heat source for hot water, the shower costs you no electricity. In a house in Luleå on Luleå Energi’s grid, with Norrbotten’s reduced energy tax and the Statistics Sweden average variable price for SE1, each kilowatt-hour costs 116.5 öre/kWh. One shower then costs between SEK 1.46 and SEK 1.75. Two people showering daily comes to SEK 1,272 a year. The same shower in a Malmö house on E.ON’s grid with full energy tax costs SEK 3.77. Enter your own use per shower in the calculator.
Shower, 5 minutes: cost per use
SEK 1.86
SEK 678 a year at 7.0 uses a week
| All-in price per kWh | 124.1 öre/kWh |
| Energy per use | 1.50 kWh |
| Cost per week | SEK 13 |
| Cost per year | SEK 678 |
Assumptions
Energy per shower from the Swedish Energy Agency (1.25–1.50 kWh for 5 minutes at 10 l/min), valid if your hot water is heated electrically. The price per kWh is worked out as in the main calculator: your spot price, mark-up, Ei’s transfer fee for Luleå Energi Elnät AB, energy tax and VAT. Method and sources
Showers per day and yearly cost, north and south
| People, one shower a day | Luleå (SE1, reduced tax) | Malmö (SE4) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | SEK 638 | SEK 1,374 |
| 2 | SEK 1,276 | SEK 2,749 |
| 3 | SEK 1,914 | SEK 4,123 |
| 4 | SEK 2,551 | SEK 5,497 |
For a household with an electric water heater, hot water is a real item. The gap between Luleå and Malmö comes from three sources: a lower spot price in SE1, the energy-tax deduction in Norrbotten and a different grid fee. For the same shower the southern price is roughly 115 % higher.
The water heater and timing
An electric water heater heats when its thermostat switches on, not when you shower. With a quarter-hour contract and a heater on a timer, heating can be moved into cheap periods, and it is the heating time that counts in the calculator. With a power charge it can also be wise not to run the heater alongside other large loads; see power charges.
Other ways of heating water
If a heat pump also heats your hot water, electricity use is below the agency’s figure, because the pump draws part of the heat from the air, ground or water; how much depends on the pump. With district heating or pellets the shower costs no electricity. Enter the consumption that fits your home. Compare with the sauna, which also draws a lot of power while it is on.