How Much Does It Cost to Run an Oxygen Concentrator?
Short answer: about $1.45 a day and $43.60 a month, or $0.061 for each hour it runs at full power, at the 2025 US average electricity rate. That is for a 350 W oxygen concentrator running 24 hours a day with a 100% duty cycle. Change the state and hours below for your own number.
Updated Nov 8, 2026
Quick answer
Quick answer, US average (17.3 c/kWh)
About $43.60 a month
The same use costs $29.76 a month in North Dakota and $102.29 in Hawaii.
- Per hour
- $0.061
- at 350 W
- Per day
- $1.45
- 24 h, 8.40 kWh
- Per month
- $43.60
- 30 days
- Per year
- $530.42
- 365 days at the same use
Your state, your hours
Per hour
$0.061
Per day
$1.45
Per month
$43.60
Per year
$530.42
Oxygen Concentrator at 350 W, 24 h a day, 30 days a month, 100% duty cycle: 252.0 kWh a month. Using the 2025 US average of 17.3 cents/kWh.
Want to change the watts or duty cycle too? Open the full calculator.
What decides the cost of running an oxygen concentrator
A home oxygen concentrator runs a compressor that pushes room air through beds of zeolite, which hold back nitrogen and let concentrated oxygen through. That compressor runs continuously whenever the machine is on, so unlike a fridge or an air conditioner there is no thermostat cycling. A typical stationary 5 liter per minute unit draws about 280 to 350 W, and a 10 liter unit about 600 W. The default here is a 5 liter unit at 350 W running 24 hours a day, 8.4 kWh, about $1.45 a day at the national average rate.
That makes it one of the larger steady loads a household can have. At the default it uses about 252 kWh a month, about $44, and about 3,066 kWh a year, roughly $530. In a high-rate state the yearly cost can pass $1,000. Newer models are more efficient, and some 5 liter units are rated under 300 W, so the label on your machine is the number to use. Turning the flow down does not always cut the draw much, because the compressor still runs, though some newer models do slow down at lower settings.
Portable oxygen concentrators are a different story. On pulse-dose settings they draw roughly 40 to 100 W while charging or running from the wall, and their batteries are designed for a few hours away from home. Many people use a portable unit during the day and a stationary unit at night.
Two things are worth doing about the cost. First, ask your utility about a medical baseline or medical certificate program. Many utilities offer them for people who rely on powered medical equipment, and depending on the program they can provide extra kWh at the lowest rate tier or protection from disconnection. Second, plan for outages. A 350 W continuous load uses 8.4 kWh a day, more than a typical power station holds, so a backup plan usually combines a generator or a home battery with the backup oxygen your supplier and prescriber recommend.
Follow your prescriber's instructions for flow and use. This page covers electricity only.
How to cut it
- Ask your utility about a medical baseline or medical certificate program for powered medical equipment.
- Keep the intake filter clean and the unit a foot or more from walls and curtains so the compressor does not overheat.
- If your prescription allows it, use a portable concentrator on pulse dose when away from the stationary unit.
- Plan outage backup around 8.4 kWh a day, plus the backup oxygen your supplier recommends.
Oxygen Concentrator cost by state
Monthly cost for 350 W, 24 h a day, 100% duty cycle, 30 days, sorted cheapest to most expensive. Pick your state above to highlight it.
| Rank | State | Cents/kWh | Per month |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Dakota | 11.81 | $29.76 |
| 2 | Idaho | 11.82 | $29.79 |
| 3 | Nebraska | 12.34 | $31.10 |
| 4 | Louisiana | 12.57 | $31.68 |
| 5 | Arkansas | 12.84 | $32.36 |
| 6 | Montana | 12.98 | $32.71 |
| 7 | Utah | 13.07 | $32.94 |
| 8 | Washington | 13.11 | $33.04 |
| 9 | Oklahoma | 13.12 | $33.06 |
| 10 | Nevada | 13.15 | $33.14 |
| 11 | Tennessee | 13.18 | $33.21 |
| 12 | Kentucky | 13.24 | $33.36 |
| 13 | South Dakota | 13.38 | $33.72 |
| 14 | Wyoming | 13.38 | $33.72 |
| 15 | Missouri | 13.49 | $33.99 |
| 16 | Iowa | 13.72 | $34.57 |
| 17 | North Carolina | 14.02 | $35.33 |
| 18 | Mississippi | 14.03 | $35.36 |
| 19 | Kansas | 14.56 | $36.69 |
| 20 | Georgia | 14.73 | $37.12 |
| 21 | South Carolina | 14.96 | $37.70 |
| 22 | New Mexico | 15.08 | $38.00 |
| 23 | Florida | 15.24 | $38.40 |
| 24 | Virginia | 15.28 | $38.51 |
| 25 | Arizona | 15.32 | $38.61 |
| 26 | Oregon | 15.37 | $38.73 |
| 27 | West Virginia | 15.41 | $38.83 |
| 28 | Texas | 15.47 | $38.98 |
| 29 | Minnesota | 15.82 | $39.87 |
| 30 | Colorado | 15.85 | $39.94 |
| 31 | Alabama | 16.10 | $40.57 |
| 32 | Indiana | 16.23 | $40.90 |
| 33 | Ohio | 16.96 | $42.74 |
| 34 | Delaware | 17.13 | $43.17 |
| 35 | Illinois | 17.69 | $44.58 |
| 36 | Wisconsin | 18.16 | $45.76 |
| 37 | Pennsylvania | 19.30 | $48.64 |
| 38 | Maryland | 19.48 | $49.09 |
| 39 | Michigan | 20.01 | $50.43 |
| 40 | District of Columbia | 21.94 | $55.29 |
| 41 | New Jersey | 22.63 | $57.03 |
| 42 | Vermont | 22.92 | $57.76 |
| 43 | New Hampshire | 24.56 | $61.89 |
| 44 | Alaska | 26.09 | $65.75 |
| 45 | New York | 26.39 | $66.50 |
| 46 | Maine | 27.78 | $70.01 |
| 47 | Connecticut | 29.38 | $74.04 |
| 48 | Rhode Island | 29.46 | $74.24 |
| 49 | Massachusetts | 30.48 | $76.81 |
| 50 | California | 32.54 | $82.00 |
| 51 | Hawaii | 40.59 | $102.29 |
Rates: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Form EIA-861, annual average residential price, 2025 (eia.gov). Full list on the electricity rates by state page.
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Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to run an oxygen concentrator per month?+
About $44 a month for a 5 liter unit running around the clock: 350 W x 24 hours = 8.4 kWh a day, 252 kWh a month, and 252 x $0.173 is $43.60. A 10 liter unit at 600 W is about $75 a month.
How much does it cost to run an oxygen concentrator per day?+
About $1.45 a day: 0.35 kW x 24 = 8.4 kWh, and 8.4 x $0.173 is $1.45 at the national average rate. In the cheapest states it is about $1, and in Hawaii over $3.
How much does it cost to run an oxygen concentrator per year?+
About $530 a year: 8.4 kWh x 365 = 3,066 kWh, and 3,066 x $0.173 is $530.42. That is close to a third of the roughly 10,000 to 11,000 kWh a year EIA reports for an average US home.
How much does an oxygen concentrator cost per hour?+
About 6 cents an hour for a 350 W unit, since 0.35 kWh x $0.173 = $0.061. A 600 W, 10 liter unit is about 10 cents an hour.
How many watts does an oxygen concentrator use?+
About 280 to 350 W for a stationary 5 liter per minute unit and about 600 W for a 10 liter unit, with a start-up draw of up to about 700 W. Portable units on pulse dose draw roughly 40 to 100 W.
Does an oxygen concentrator use a lot of electricity?+
Yes, for a household device. Running 24 hours a day at 350 W it uses about 3,066 kWh a year, more than a refrigerator, a chest freezer and a TV combined on this site's defaults.
Does Medicare or my utility pay for oxygen concentrator electricity?+
Medicare does not pay the electric bill directly. Many utilities offer medical baseline or medical certificate programs for people who depend on powered medical equipment, which can provide extra low-rate kWh or protection from shutoff. Ask your utility.
How long will a power station run an oxygen concentrator?+
About 2.5 hours on a 1 kWh power station for a 350 W unit. 1,000 Wh divided by 350 W is 2.9 hours, less after inverter losses. A full day needs 8.4 kWh or more, which is home battery or generator territory.
What size generator do I need for an oxygen concentrator?+
At least about 1,000 W for a 5 liter unit on its own, to cover the 700 W start-up with margin. Use an inverter generator for clean power and keep it outdoors away from windows. Size up if it also runs a fridge or furnace; see the generator sizer.
How can I lower the cost of running an oxygen concentrator?+
Enroll in your utility's medical baseline program if one exists, keep the filters clean, and when you replace the unit compare rated watts; a 280 W model uses about 613 kWh a year less than a 350 W model, about $106 a year.
Marcus Reed
Founder and Editor, CrunchYourDollars
Marcus Reed builds the sizing tools on CrunchYourDollars. He is a software engineer with a long-running PC hardware and power supply habit, which is where the watts, watt-hours and surge math on this site comes from. Product specs are pulled from manufacturer data sheets, electricity rates from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, and water chemistry rules from the Water Quality Association. He is not a licensed electrician or plumber: the tools show the math and the matching models so you can make the call, and anything involving your electrical panel should be checked by a licensed pro.
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