How much does it cost to run a video doorbell? (2026 price cap)
At the GB-average Ofgem price cap for 1 October to 31 December 2026, a video doorbell rated at 3W costs 0.1p an hour to run and around £6.92 a year assuming runs continuously.
Per hour
0.1p
Per typical use
1.9p
Per day
1.9p
Per week
13p
Per year
£6.92
Typical rating and how we worked this out
This page uses a typical rating of 3W for a video doorbell; published figures for this appliance range from 2W to 8W. A wired video doorbell's transformer draws only a couple of watts continuously; a battery-powered video doorbell draws no mains power at all between the occasional charge of its internal battery. The running cost follows the same formula used across this site: watts ÷ 1,000 × hours × unit rate. Typical use is modelled as runs continuously, which is how the per-day, per-week and per-year figures above were calculated — see the cost-to-run calculator to change the wattage, hours or region yourself.
Rate used: Ofgem price cap, 1 October to 31 December 2026, GB average electricity — 26.32p/kWh (excl. VAT, removed 1 Oct 2026–31 Mar 2027).
Cost by region
Same appliance, same use — ranked most to least expensive by region under the price cap:
| Region | Elec p/kWh | Cost per hour | Typical annual cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Merseyside and Northern Wales | 27.86 | 0.1p | £7.32 |
| South Eastern England | 26.88 | 0.1p | £7.06 |
| Eastern England | 26.61 | 0.1p | £6.99 |
| London | 26.60 | 0.1p | £6.99 |
| South Western England | 26.58 | 0.1p | £6.99 |
| Southern Wales | 26.55 | 0.1p | £6.98 |
| North Western England | 26.49 | 0.1p | £6.96 |
| Southern England | 26.47 | 0.1p | £6.96 |
| Northern Scotland | 26.35 | 0.1p | £6.92 |
| Southern Scotland | 26.11 | 0.1p | £6.86 |
| West Midlands | 25.60 | 0.1p | £6.73 |
| Yorkshire | 25.60 | 0.1p | £6.73 |
| North Eastern England | 25.46 | 0.1p | £6.69 |
| East Midlands | 25.36 | 0.1p | £6.66 |
| Great Britain average | 26.32 | 0.1p | £6.92 |
East Midlands is cheapest at £6.66 a year; Merseyside and Northern Wales is most expensive at £7.32 a year — a gap of 66p for identical use.
How a video doorbell compares with similar appliances
Ranked by typical annual cost in garden & other, GB average:
- video doorbell — £6.92 a year (this page)
- baby monitor — £6.92 a year
- sewing machine — £6.48 a year
- vacuum cleaner — £7.98 a year
- electric leaf blower — £5.70 a year
- electric lawnmower — £10.95 a year
Three practical ways to cut the cost
- Choose a battery-powered doorbell if you don't already have low-voltage doorbell wiring
- Adjust motion-detection zones to avoid unnecessary recordings from a busy street
- Keep the firmware updated — efficiency improvements are common in this product category
FAQs
- How much does it cost to run a video doorbell for an hour?
- 0.1p at the GB-average rate (26.32p/kWh, 3W). One typical use — runs continuously — costs closer to 1.9p.
- How much does a video doorbell cost to run per year?
- Around £6.92 a year at the GB-average rate, assuming runs continuously — about 13p a week.
- Which UK region is cheapest to run a video doorbell in?
- East Midlands, at £6.66 a year, against £7.32 in Merseyside and Northern Wales — 66p apart for identical use, purely from the regional rate.
- Does the exact wattage of my video doorbell change the cost much?
- Yes — ratings range 2W–8W, so the top of that range costs about 4.0x the bottom. This page uses 3W; check your own rating plate.
- Does the October 2026 price cap affect this figure?
- Yes — figures use the Ofgem cap for 1 October to 31 December 2026. Electricity excludes VAT (removed 1 Oct 2026–31 Mar 2027); gas includes 5%. See the price cap page for the full breakdown.
Sources
- Daftlogic — power consumption of typical household appliances — wattage and usage figures for this appliance.
- Ofgem — Energy price cap unit rates and standing charges (regional tables, read 12 September 2026).
Related
- Cost-to-run calculator and full A–Z — check any appliance or enter a custom wattage.
- Energy price cap, 1 October to 31 December 2026 — every region, every payment method.
- Back-billing calculator — if a bill for this or any appliance looks like it covers too many months.
- Free bill audit — if your overall energy costs look high regardless of any one appliance.
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