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How Many Watts Does an Electric Blanket Use? Watts, Cost, and Outage Run Time
An electric blanket uses about 60 to 110 watts. Sunbeam rates its heated blankets at 100 watts and its heated mattress pad at 110 watts. Sunbeam also says a warming blanket is actually on only 20 to 40 percent of the time, so a typical night uses about 0.16 to 0.32 kWh. That makes a heated blanket one of the easiest ways to stay warm on a power station during a winter outage.
Electric blanket watts (manufacturer specs)
| Product | Watts | Amps at 120V |
|---|---|---|
| Sunbeam Heated Blanket, Microplush (Greystone) | 100 W | About 0.8 A |
| Sunbeam Heated Mattress Pad, Fleece (dual control) | 110 W | About 0.9 A |
| Typical single / double electric blanket | 60 / 100 W | 0.5 / 0.8 A |
Sources: Sunbeam product specifications at sunbeamhome.com; Virginia Cooperative Extension appliance wattage table for the typical single and double figures. Amps = watts / 120.
Find your own number: the watts are printed on the controller or the tag on the blanket.
How much electricity does an electric blanket use overnight?
A heated blanket works like a thermostat: it switches on and off to hold the setting. For a 100 W blanket over 8 hours:
| How it runs | Energy for 8 hours | Cost at 17 cents per kWh |
|---|---|---|
| On 20% of the time | 0.16 kWh | About 3 cents |
| On 40% of the time | 0.32 kWh | About 5 cents |
| On the whole time (worst case) | 0.8 kWh | About 14 cents |
The 20 to 40 percent figure is from Sunbeam's FAQ. Higher heat settings and a cold room push it toward the top of the range.
Electric blanket vs space heater
A space heater on high uses about 1,500 watts, roughly 15 times what a 100 W blanket draws at full power. In an outage, warming yourself instead of the whole room makes your battery last many times longer. See How Many Watts Does a Space Heater Use?
How long will a power station run an electric blanket?
| Power station | Capacity / output | 100 W blanket on full time | On 40% of the time | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jackery Explorer 1000 v2 | 1,070 Wh / 1,500 W | About 9.6 hours | About 24 hours | From $499 |
| Jackery Explorer 2000 v2 | 2,042 Wh / 2,200 W | About 18 hours | About 46 hours | From $899 |
| Jackery HomePower 3000 | 3,072 Wh / 3,600 W | About 28 hours | About 69 hours | From $1,349 |
Hours = capacity x 0.9 / watts (100 W full time, 40 W average at 40%). Capacity and output are from each product page. For comparison, a 1,500 W space heater would drain the Explorer 1000 v2 in under 40 minutes. Browse all portable power stations.
Staying warm in a winter power outage
A heated blanket keeps you warm, but it does not keep pipes from freezing or run your furnace. Gas furnaces still need electricity for the blower. Read How Many Watts Does a Furnace Use? and What Size Generator Do You Need to Run a House? to plan backup power for the whole house.
Need help sizing? Call 1-888-855-7286. Tell us what you want to keep running in an outage and we will match you to a power station or generator.
Electric blanket wattage FAQ
How many watts does an electric blanket use? About 60 to 110 watts. Sunbeam rates its heated blankets at 100 watts and its heated mattress pad at 110 watts.
How much does it cost to run an electric blanket all night? About 3 to 5 cents for 8 hours at 17 cents per kWh, based on Sunbeam's 20 to 40 percent on-time.
How many amps does an electric blanket use? About 0.8 amps for a 100 W blanket at 120V.
Do heated blankets use a lot of electricity? No. A 100 W blanket uses a small fraction of what a 1,500 W space heater does.
Can I run an electric blanket on a power station? Yes. A 1,070 Wh Jackery Explorer 1000 v2 runs a 100 W blanket about 24 hours at 40 percent on-time.