Time-of-use · updated 2026-08-27
Should you switch to a time-of-use electricity plan?
The marketing for time-of-use rates leans on the size of the gap between peak and off-peak prices. Across the 233 time-of-use plans we track, the median plan charges about 2.6× more at peak, and the steepest reach 14×. That number tells you what is available. It tells you nothing about what you will get.
The only question that matters
How many kilowatt-hours a day can you actually relocate? Not “would like to” — will, reliably, every day, including the days you are tired.
Rough figures for the loads people can realistically move:
| Load | Roughly | Movable? |
|---|---|---|
| EV charging (average commute) | 8–12 kWh | Yes — set it and forget it |
| Heat-pump water heater | 3–5 kWh/day | Yes — most have a schedule |
| Pool pump | 4–8 kWh/day | Yes — timer |
| Clothes dryer | 3–4 kWh/load | Sometimes — delay start |
| Dishwasher | ~1.5 kWh/load | Sometimes — delay start |
| Air conditioning | 10–25 kWh/day in summer | Barely — you need it when you need it |
| Cooking, lights, TV | A few kWh | No |
Add up the rows you would honestly answer yes to. If the total is under about 3 kWh a day, a time-of-use plan is unlikely to be worth the disruption. If it is over 10 — which almost always means an electric car — it very likely is.
Doing the arithmetic
- Find your utility in our index and open the time-of-use plan you are considering. The peak and off-peak prices are in the rate table.
- Subtract off-peak from peak. Multiply by the kilowatt-hours you can move, then by 365. That is your annual upside.
- Now the downside. On most time-of-use plans the off-peak price is higher than the flat rate you are leaving in exchange for a much lower one at night — or the peak is far above it. Everything you cannot move is billed at the worse of the two.
- Compare the two. Our rate pages do this for you against the utility’s default plan, for three household shapes, using an hour-by-hour simulation of a full year.
Most utilities also publish a rate comparison tool driven by your actual smart-meter data. That is more accurate than anything we can compute from a monthly total, and if yours offers one, use it before you switch. What we can do that it cannot is show you every plan at every utility on the same basis, including the ones your utility has no interest in highlighting.
Who tends to win
- EV owners. Not close. A single overnight charge relocates more electricity than every other movable load combined, and many utilities offer EV-specific plans with unusually cheap night rates.
- Households away all day. If the house is empty from 8am to 6pm and the peak window is 4pm to 9pm, you are half-way there already.
- Anyone with a battery. A home battery turns the gap into arbitrage directly.
Who tends to lose
- People home in the evening in a hot climate. Air conditioning is the single largest household load and it runs precisely during the peak window. This is the classic case where a switch backfires.
- Shift workers and people who work from home. The peak window is when you are using the house.
- Very small households. If you use little electricity, the absolute saving is small even if the percentage is good, and the fixed charge dominates. See fixed charges.
Keep reading
- What is a time-of-use electricity rate?
The same kilowatt-hour, priced differently depending on when you use it.
- When should you charge an electric car at home?
The single biggest load most homes can move, and the easiest to automate.
- How to compare electricity plans without getting it wrong
Six things that break a comparison, and the order to check them in.