A heated blanket can lower your heating bill if you use it to turn the thermostat down. Running a Twin-size heated blanket, rated at 110W, on its highest level for 8 hours uses 0.88 kWh, which costs about 16 cents at the US average residential electricity rate of 18.19¢ per kWh for January to August 2026. The U.S. Department of Energy says turning your thermostat down 7 to 10°F for 8 hours a day can cut as much as 10% a year off your heating bill. The savings come from heating the bed, not the bedroom.
How a Heated Blanket Can Lower Your Heating Bill
A furnace or heat pump warms the air, walls and furniture in every room it serves. A heated blanket warms you through direct contact and does not heat the room around you. If a warm bed lets you keep the bedroom cooler overnight, the heating system runs less, and that is where the money comes from. This approach is called zone heating: you heat the person or the small space in use instead of the whole house.
The Department of Energy puts a number on the thermostat side. Its winter energy-saving tips say that setting the thermostat 7 to 10 degrees lower for 8 hours a day while you are away or asleep can cut as much as 10% a year off your heating bill. Sleeping hours are the easiest 8 hours to cover, because a heated blanket keeps you warm while the house cools.
The blanket side is simple to work out. Multiply the wattage by the hours of use, divide by 1,000 to get kilowatt-hours, and multiply by your electricity rate. The rates below use the national average from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, 18.19¢ per kWh for residential customers, January to August 2026. Your own bill shows your local rate. For a broader look at the pros and cons, see whether heated blankets are worth it.
| Heating Approach | What It Heats | Typical Draw | Cost per Hour at 18.19¢ | Cost per 8-Hour Night | Role in Zone Heating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bubble Faux Fur Heated Blanket, Throw | One person under the blanket | 100W | 1.8¢ | 14.6¢ | Overnight or couch warmth, 8-hour default auto shut-off |
| Ribbed Heated Blanket, Full | One person under the blanket | 130W | 2.4¢ | 18.9¢ | Bed or couch, 10 timer settings (1 to 10 hours) |
| HeatX Heated Blanket, one side (Queen or King) | One sleeper's side | 110W per controller | 2.0¢ | 16.0¢ | One partner heats while the other side stays off |
| HeatX Heated Blanket, both sides (Queen or King) | The whole bed | 2 x 110W | 4.0¢ | 32.0¢ | Two sleepers, each with a controller |
| Luxury Jacquard Heated Mattress Pad, both sides (Queen or King) | The bed from below | 2 x 100W | 3.6¢ | 29.1¢ | Preheats the bed; each side set separately |
| Plug-in space heater | The air in one room | Rated wattage on its label | Label watts ÷ 1,000 × your rate | Hourly cost × 8 | Warms a room you move around in |
| Central heating (furnace or heat pump) | The whole home | Depends on system and fuel | Varies | Varies | The part a thermostat setback reduces |
Blanket and mattress pad costs above use the rated wattage of the size shown at full power, which is the cost at the highest heat level. Lower heat levels cost less. Wattage depends on size, not on fabric, so the same figures apply to the other Bedsure blankets in this guide in that size.
Overnight Bedroom Setback: A Worked Example
Here is one way to estimate a month of savings. Suppose your heating costs $200 in a cold winter month; use your own bill in place of that number. You turn the thermostat down 7 to 10°F for the 8 hours you sleep and run a Twin-size heated blanket, rated at 110W, on high all night. One side of a Queen or King blanket draws the same 110W.
Gas furnace or heat pump
Your heating type changes where the savings show up. With a gas furnace, the setback lowers your gas bill while the blanket adds a little to your electric bill, so compare the two in dollars. With a heat pump or electric baseboard heat, both changes land on the same electric bill. The Department of Energy adds one caution for heat pumps: do not set back the temperature without a smart or programmable thermostat designed for use with heat pumps.
What the blanket adds for 8 hours a night
Thirty nights at 0.88 kWh is 26.4 kWh. At 18.19¢ per kWh, that comes to about $4.80 for the month at full power. Other sizes in the table scale the same way. A Queen or King blanket with both 110W controllers on doubles the figure to about $9.60.
Estimated monthly net
The Department of Energy figure is an annual upper limit, not a guarantee, so treat 10% of the month's heating cost as a ceiling: up to $20 on a $200 month. Subtract the blanket's $4.80 and the most you would come out ahead is about $15.20. A smaller setback, a home that holds heat well or a lower heating bill shrinks that number. Running the blanket on a lower setting or for fewer hours grows it.
Daytime Home-Office Setback
The same idea works during the day if you work from home. Instead of heating the whole house so one room feels warm, keep the thermostat lower and heat yourself. A heated throw over your lap costs about 1.8¢ an hour at full power, because Throw sizes such as the Ribbed Throw are rated at 100W. A plug-in heated hoodie keeps your shoulders warm while you type. The Heated Sherpa Fleece Blanket Hoodie has 10 timer settings and a default 8-hour auto shut-off, so one session can last a full 8-hour workday. For more desk-side ideas, read our guide to staying warm while working from home.
Keep the expectations modest. The Department of Energy figure covers one 8-hour setback a day. It does not give a figure for a second daily setback, so a day setback and a night setback do not add up to 20%.
Blanket, Mattress Pad or Comforter: Which Saves Most
The product that saves most is the one that lets you set the thermostat lowest while running the lowest heat level you find comfortable. Each format gets there differently.
- Heated blanket: lies over you and also works on the couch, so one product can cover both a night setback and a daytime one. The Bedsure heated blankets in this guide are rated at 100W in Throw and Throw XL, 110W in Twin and 130W in Full; Queen and King use two 110W controllers, one for each side.
- Heated mattress pad: warms the bed from below and can preheat before you get in. Bedsure heated mattress pads are rated at 100W in Twin and Twin XL and 130W in Full (140W for the Four-Zoned Full). Queen and King use two 100W controllers, one for each side; on the Four-Zoned pad, the two controllers set upper-body and lower-body warmth separately. Our comparison of a heated mattress pad and an electric blanket covers the trade-offs in detail.
- Heated comforter: replaces your top layer. Bedsure describes the HeatX Heated Comforter's layered construction as keeping heat close and reducing the need for extra winter layers. It uses the same size ratings as the blankets: 110W in Twin, 130W in Full and two 110W controllers on Queen and King. Read electric blanket vs. heated comforter for a side-by-side look.
Bedsure's guides also suggest pairing a heated blanket or mattress pad with regular bedding for extra insulation. A plain comforter on top holds the heat in, which can let you run a lower setting.
A Note on Space Heaters
A space heater warms the air in one room, so it still helps when you are up and moving around. A heated blanket only warms you while you are under it. The U.S. Fire Administration's heating safety tips say to turn space heaters off when you leave the room or go to bed, so a space heater does not cover the overnight setback hours. To compare running costs, read the wattage on the heater's label and use the same formula: watts ÷ 1,000 × hours × your rate. Then set that next to the blanket figures in the table above.
Habits That Keep the Bill Low
- Preheat, then turn down. Bedsure's guides say a blanket takes about 10 to 15 minutes to warm up. The HeatX blanket, the Four-Zoned and Luxury Jacquard mattress pads and others have a preheat mode. Our heat level settings guide explains which level suits sleep.
- Use the lowest comfortable setting. The rated wattage is the maximum draw.
- Use the timer. The Bedsure heated blankets in this guide have 10 timer settings (1 to 10 hours), and Bedsure heated mattress pads have 12 timer settings (1 to 12 hours). All of them also have a default 8-hour auto shut-off.
- Add a regular layer on top. A plain blanket or comforter holds the warmth in. Keep heavy objects off the heated product, as the guides direct.
- Heat only the side in use. On a Queen or King blanket or mattress pad with one controller for each side, leave the empty side off.
To compare wattage, timers and sizes across every model, browse the heated blankets collection.
FAQs About Heated Blanket Running Costs
Do heated mattress pads use a lot of electricity?
No. A Queen or King Bedsure heated mattress pad, such as the Luxury Jacquard, uses 100W per controller, about 1.8¢ per hour per side at full power at the 18.19¢ national average rate. A Full pad at 130W costs about 2.4¢ per hour. A whole night with both sides on high appears in the table above.
Does preheating on high cost more than low all night?
No. Cost depends on watts multiplied by hours. Fifteen minutes on high with a 110W Twin blanket uses 0.0275 kWh, about half a cent. Turning down to a low setting afterward draws less than running on high all night.
How low can I set the thermostat at night?
The Department of Energy's guidance is 7 to 10°F below your normal setting for 8 hours a day. Keep the house warm enough for pipes, pets and everyone at home. If anyone in your household has health concerns about a cooler bedroom, follow the manual and ask your doctor first.
Does a dual-control blanket cost twice as much?
Only when both sides run. Each controller draws its own power: 110W per controller on Queen and King heated blankets such as the HeatX, and 100W per controller on Queen and King heated mattress pads such as the Luxury Jacquard. With one side off, you pay for one side.
