How much does a 3D printer cost per month in South Carolina?

About 84.0¢ a month, assuming 120 W at a 60% duty cycle, 6 hours a day, 150 days a year at 15.55¢/kWh.

How many kilowatt-hours does a 3D printer use?

Roughly 65 kWh a year under these assumptions, or 0.07 kWh for every hour it runs.

Is that expensive compared with other states?

South Carolina has the 21st cheapest average residential rate in the country, so this appliance costs less here than the U.S. average of $11.88 a year.

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Cost to run a 3D printer in South Carolina (June 2026 rates)

At 15.55¢ per kilowatt-hour — South Carolina's average residential price in June 2026 — running a 3D printer costs $10.08 a year. That is 15% less than the national average of $11.88. South Carolina's residential rate is up 5.1% from June 2025, which moves this appliance from $9.58 to $10.08 a year.

Per hour: 1.1¢
Per day of use: 6.7¢
Per month: 84.0¢
Per year: $10.08

Assumption: 120 W at a 60% duty cycle, 6 hours a day, 150 days a year — 65 kWh a year. A consumer FDM printer mid-print. The heated bed dominates the draw, and an enclosure lowers the duty cycle by holding heat in. Use the calculator to swap in the numbers from your own model.

How South Carolina compares

South Carolina pays 15.55¢/kWh, the 21st cheapest residential electricity of the 51 U.S. jurisdictions EIA reports. For this appliance that works out to $1.81 less a year than the typical U.S. household pays for the same use. Running the same 3D printer costs $8.50 a year in Nevada and $34.16 in Hawaii, so where you live changes this bill by $25.67 a year.

State	Rate	Per month	Per year
South Dakota	15.36¢	82.9¢	$9.95
West Virginia	15.45¢	83.4¢	$10.01
South Carolina	15.55¢	84.0¢	$10.08
Kansas	15.71¢	84.8¢	$10.18
Iowa	15.93¢	86.0¢	$10.32

States ranked by average residential price, cheapest first. See all 51 states for a 3D printer.

What else costs about the same in South Carolina

Computer monitor$9.33 a year in SC Security camera$6.81 a year in SC Ceiling fan$13.44 a year in SC

Cutting the number down

The heated bed, not the hotend, is the load. Lowering bed temperature after the first layers cuts the average draw.
Long prints are cheap per hour but numerous: a week of continuous printing is a real line item.

Questions

How much does a 3D printer cost per month in South Carolina?: About 84.0¢ a month, assuming 120 W at a 60% duty cycle, 6 hours a day, 150 days a year at 15.55¢/kWh.
How many kilowatt-hours does a 3D printer use?: Roughly 65 kWh a year under these assumptions, or 0.07 kWh for every hour it runs.
Is that expensive compared with other states?: South Carolina has the 21st cheapest average residential rate in the country, so this appliance costs less here than the U.S. average of $11.88 a year.