Cost to run an aquarium in Delaware (June 2026 rates)
At 19.29¢ per kilowatt-hour — Delaware's average residential price in June 2026 — running an aquarium costs $114 a year. That is 5% more than the national average of $108. Delaware's residential rate is up 6.2% from June 2025, which moves this appliance from $107 to $114 a year.
- Per hour
- 1.3¢
- Per day of use
- 31.2¢
- Per month
- $9.51
- Per year
- $114
Assumption: 150 W at a 45% duty cycle, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year — 591 kWh a year. A 55-gallon tank: heater, filter and light combined, averaged over a day. Use the calculator to swap in the numbers from your own model.
How Delaware compares
Delaware pays 19.29¢/kWh, the 18th most expensive residential electricity of the 51 U.S. jurisdictions EIA reports. For this appliance that works out to $5.62 more a year than the typical U.S. household pays for the same use. Running the same aquarium costs $77.52 a year in Nevada and $312 in Hawaii, so where you live changes this bill by $234 a year.
| State | Rate | Per month | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota | 17.52¢ | $8.63 | $104 |
| Ohio | 19.19¢ | $9.46 | $113 |
| Delaware | 19.29¢ | $9.51 | $114 |
| Wisconsin | 19.56¢ | $9.64 | $116 |
| Illinois | 19.89¢ | $9.80 | $118 |
States ranked by average residential price, cheapest first. See all 51 states for an aquarium.
What else costs about the same in Delaware
Cutting the number down
- The heater is nearly all of it, and its runtime depends on the room. A tank in a cool room costs more to keep warm.
- Insulating the back and sides of the tank cuts heater runtime without changing the view.
- A lid limits evaporative heat loss, which is the main way an open tank sheds the warmth you paid for.
Questions
- How much does an aquarium cost per month in Delaware?
- About $9.51 a month, assuming 150 W at a 45% duty cycle, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year at 19.29¢/kWh.
- How many kilowatt-hours does an aquarium use?
- Roughly 591 kWh a year under these assumptions, or 0.07 kWh for every hour it runs.
- Is that expensive compared with other states?
- Delaware has the 18th most expensive average residential rate in the country, so this appliance costs more here than the U.S. average of $108 a year.