How Much Electricity Does a Well Pump Use? Cost to Run

Short answer

A 1 HP submersible well pump draws about 1.2 kW while it runs — 1,210 watts at full load and up to 1,600 watts at maximum load, by Franklin Electric's figures.^[1] A household of four using the EPA's average of 82 gallons per person per day^[2] needs a 10 GPM pump to run about 33 minutes a day. That is roughly 20 to 26 kWh, or $3.60 to $4.80 a month, at the U.S. average residential price of 18.31 cents per kWh (July 2026).^[3]

Well pump running-cost calculator

Without JavaScript: monthly cost ≈ pump watts ÷ 1,000 × hours run per day × 30 × your electricity rate. A 1 HP submersible motor draws about 1.2 kW at full load; half an hour a day at 18.31 cents per kWh is roughly $3.30 a month.

Pump motor

How do you want to estimate run time?

From water useGallons per day and the pump's flow. I know the hoursHours the pump runs per day.

People in the homeWe use EPA's average of 82 gallons per person per day. Add irrigation separately below.

Extra water per day (gallons, optional)Irrigation, livestock, pool top-ups.

Pump flow (GPM)

Electricity rate (cents per kWh)Default is the U.S. residential average for July 2026 (EIA). Your bill shows your own rate.

This tool is for educational guidance and does not replace an onsite diagnosis. Motor watts are Franklin Electric's published full-load and maximum-load figures for 4-inch single-phase submersible motors; your pump may differ. Jet pumps and other brands: enter the nameplate watts.

The arithmetic

A pump only uses power while it runs, so the cost comes down to three numbers:

Monthly cost

Formula: Motor watts ÷ 1,000 × hours run per day × 30 × your price per kWh
Run time: Gallons used per day ÷ the pump's flow in GPM = minutes per day
Example: 328 gallons ÷ 10 GPM = 32.8 minutes a day. 1.21 kW × 32.8 min ÷ 60 × 30 days = 19.8 kWh. At 18.31¢, that is $3.63.

The pump doesn't run for 33 minutes straight. It runs in short bursts each time the pressure tank empties, and those bursts add up.

How many watts a well pump uses

Input watts of Franklin Electric 4-inch single-phase submersible motors
Motor	Full load	Maximum load
½ HP	670 W	960 W
¾ HP	940 W	1,310 W
1 HP	1,210 W	1,600 W
1½ HP, 3-wire	1,620 W	2,080 W
1½ HP, 2-wire	1,770 W	2,280 W
2 HP	2,025 W	2,555 W
3 HP	3,000 W	3,400 W
5 HP	4,830 W	5,500 W

Source: Franklin Electric's motor specification table.^[1] "Maximum load" is the motor working at its full service factor; a correctly matched pump runs somewhere between the two columns. Notice that a 1 HP motor does not use 746 watts — that figure is the mechanical power at the shaft, before the motor's own losses.

For a jet pump or another brand, use the watts on the nameplate. If it lists only volts and amps, multiplying them gives a rough figure that errs on the high side.

Monthly cost by pump size and run time

Cost per month at 18.31¢ per kWh, full-load watts
Motor	30 min a day	1 hour a day	2 hours a day
½ HP	$1.84	$3.68	$7.36
¾ HP	$2.58	$5.16	$10.33
1 HP	$3.32	$6.65	$13.29
1½ HP, 3-wire	$4.45	$8.90	$17.80
2 HP	$5.56	$11.12	$22.25

Our calculation from Franklin's full-load watts and the EIA's U.S. average residential price for July 2026.^[1]^[3] At maximum load the figures are about 25% to 45% higher, depending on the motor. Your own rate may be well above or below the national average — it's on your electric bill.

How long does the pump actually run?

Run time is water used divided by pump flow. Using the EPA's 82 gallons per person per day^[2] and a pump delivering 10 GPM:

Estimated daily pump run time by household size (10 GPM pump)
People	Gallons a day	Pump run time
1	82	8 minutes
2	164	16 minutes
4	328	33 minutes
6	492	49 minutes

Irrigation changes the picture quickly. For example, a sprinkler zone drawing 8 GPM for an hour adds 480 gallons — more than the EPA average for a family of four for the whole day — so summer bills are normally higher.

When the bill says the pump is running too much

Because normal use costs only a few dollars, a pump that shows up on the electric bill is running far longer than the household's water use explains. A 1 HP pump that never shuts off uses about 871 kWh a month — roughly $160 at the national average price.^[1]^[3] The usual reasons:

Water is going somewhere you can't see: A running toilet, a leaking yard hydrant or a broken buried line. The EPA estimates household leaks waste about 180 gallons a week for the average family — every gallon of it pumped.^[2]
The pump can't reach its cut-out pressure: A worn pump, a falling water level or a switch set too high keeps the pump grinding away below the shut-off point. See well pump keeps running.
Pressure leaks back down the well: A failing check valve lets the tank drain backward, so the pump restarts with no water being used. See check valve symptoms.

Safe to check

Turn off every faucet and appliance and watch the pressure gauge for ten minutes. If the needle falls, or the pump starts, water is leaving the system. The house-valve test then tells you whether the loss is in the house or on the well side.

What changes the cost — and what doesn't

Using less water is the direct lever: fewer gallons, fewer minutes.
A higher pressure setting costs a little more. Every psi is 2.31 feet of extra head for the pump to work against,^[4] so 40/60 takes more energy per gallon than 30/50. By our arithmetic, for a typical house the difference is cents a month, not dollars.
A healthy pressure tank doesn't lower the bill much, but it protects the pump. Franklin limits how often a motor should start because starts wear the motor and its controls.^[1] Fix short cycling for the pump's sake.
Constant-pressure systems are sold on steady pressure. We haven't found a source we can verify for household energy savings, so we don't claim any. See constant-pressure systems.

Pump running too much?All cost guides