How many watts does a gas stove use?
A typical gas stove uses 384–432 watts when running and draws 3.2–3.6 amps at 120 volts.
Gas stove watts, amps and circuit
| Running watts | 384–432 W |
|---|---|
| Voltage | 120 V |
| Running amps | 3.2–3.6 A |
| Circuit | standard 120 V outlet |
Also called: gas range, gas oven.
What size generator runs a gas stove?
A gas stove needs a generator that supplies at least 432 running watts. A 2,000 W generator covers it with its running rating alone; add the watts of anything else you run at the same time.
How long a portable power station runs a gas stove
| Battery capacity, Wh | At 432 W, h | At 384 W, h |
|---|---|---|
| 500 | 1 | 1.1 |
| 1,000 | 2 | 2.2 |
| 2,000 | 3.9 | 4.4 |
| 3,600 | 7.1 | 8 |
A 500 Wh portable power station runs a gas stove drawing 432 W for about 1 hours at 85% inverter efficiency. Runtime = capacity × 85% ÷ watts; the 85% efficiency is an assumption. The power station's AC output must be at least 432 W.
What it costs to run a gas stove
Running a gas stove at 408 W, the middle of its 384–432 W range, for one hour a day uses 148.9 kWh a year. That costs about $27 a year at $0.18 per kWh, the US average residential price for August 2026.
Your bill's total ÷ kWh used. 0.18 is the US residential average.
- Per day
- $0.07
- Per year
- $27
- Energy per day
- 0.41 kWh
- Energy per month
- 12.4 kWh
How it is calculated
- kWh per day = 408 W × 1 h ÷ 1,000 = 0.408
- Per month = 0.408 kWh × 30.4 days × $0.18 = $2.23
What affects gas stove power use
A gas stove burns gas for heat and uses electricity only for the controls, burner igniters and oven igniter. The glow-bar igniter in many gas ovens draws a few hundred watts while the oven is heating, and the figures here are that igniter. That is why a gas oven may not light during a power outage even though the burners can be lit by hand.
How the amps are calculated
Amps = watts ÷ volts. For 432 W at 120 V that is 3.6 A. The 384–432 W range covers typical models; the nameplate on a gas stove gives the exact figure.