VendFynd

How much power does a vending machine use in BC? A calculator

BC Hydro business rate: 14.06¢/kWh (checked Sept 26, 2026). Residential 11.87¢ and 14.08¢. Work out what a vending machine adds to your BC Hydro bill.

By Mahdi DialdenUpdated Runs in your browser, stores nothing

Short answer: a full-size refrigerated drink machine uses about 3.7–4.0 kWh a day. At BC Hydro's Small General Service energy charge of 14.06¢ per kWh, that's about $16–17 a month before GST. The calculator below works it out for your machine type, your BC Hydro rate and the number of machines.

Operators often say a machine costs "a few dollars a month" to run. The published numbers say otherwise, so here they are with their sources. This page is for business owners, facility managers and strata councils in British Columbia who pay the electricity for a machine the operator owns.

BC Hydro rates per kWh, checked September 26, 2026

BC Hydro rateEnergy chargeWho it applies to
Small General Service14.06¢ per kWhBusinesses with peak demand under 35 kW, and most building common areas
Medium General Service10.86¢ per kWh, plus $6.07 per kW demandBusinesses at 35 to 150 kW
Residential tiered, step 111.87¢ per kWhHomes, up to about 675 kWh per 30 days
Residential tiered, step 214.08¢ per kWhHomes, above that threshold
Residential flat rate12.70¢ per kWhHomes on the flat rate

These are the energy charges on BC Hydro's rates pages on September 26, 2026, before GST and rate riders. The pages don't show an effective date, so check your own bill. Sources and details are under "Where the numbers come from" below.

Vending machine power cost calculator

The calculator needs JavaScript. The table under "Worked results" has the answers for the common cases.

Worked results

For one machine, energy charge only, before GST and BC Hydro rate riders:

MachinekWh a yearSmall General Service (14.06¢)Medium General Service (10.86¢, plus demand)Residential Tier 2 (14.08¢)
ENERGY STAR drink machine, 30 cu ft (3.71 kWh/day)1,354$190 a year ($15.87 a month)$147 a year ($12.26 a month)$191 a year ($15.89 a month)
Drink machine at Canada's 2019+ limit, 30 cu ft (3.99 kWh/day)1,456$205 a year ($17.06 a month)$158 a year ($13.18 a month)$205 a year ($17.09 a month)
Drink machine built 2012–2018, at that era's limit (4.21 kWh/day)1,536$216 a year ($18.00 a month)$167 a year ($13.90 a month)$216 a year ($18.02 a month)

That's where the "roughly $15–20 a month" on our host terms comes from.

Where the numbers come from

Machine energy use. The US Department of Energy's Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) publishes test figures for a Class A, 30 cubic foot, fully cooled, glass-front drink machine: 1,354 kWh a year (3.71 kWh a day) for an ENERGY STAR model and 1,456 kWh a year (3.99 kWh a day) for a less efficient one.

Canada's legal limit. Canada's Energy Efficiency Regulations, 2016 treat refrigerated beverage vending machines as a regulated energy-using product (s.647). For a Class A machine made on or after January 8, 2019, daily energy use must be at most 0.00184 × V + 2.43 kWh, where V is the volume in litres, tested to CSA C804 (s.648). A 30 cubic foot machine is about 850 litres, which gives 3.99 kWh a day: the same as FEMP's "less efficient" figure. Machines made between August 31, 2012 and January 7, 2019 had a looser limit, 0.00194 × V + 2.56, or about 4.21 kWh a day at 30 cubic feet. Combination (snack and drink) machines have their own formulas in s.648.

BC Hydro rates, as published on BC Hydro's rates pages on September 26, 2026:

  • Small General Service (peak demand under 35 kW): 14.06¢ per kWh, basic charge 40.89¢ a day, no demand charge.
  • Medium General Service (35–150 kW): 10.86¢ per kWh, demand charge $6.07 per kW, basic charge 29.99¢ a day.
  • Residential tiered: 11.87¢ per kWh up to about 675 kWh per 30 days, 14.08¢ above it. Flat rate: 12.70¢.

BC Hydro's pages don't show an effective date. BC Hydro's F2026–F2027 revenue requirements application, filed in March 2025, asks for an average bill increase of 3.75% a year for two years. If your bill shows a different rate, enter it in the calculator.

Common areas in apartment and strata buildings. BC Hydro's business-rate declaration lists "common areas of multiple occupancy buildings" as eligible for General Service, and its residential time-of-day option is "not available for common areas in multi-residential buildings". Most building common areas are therefore on a business rate. Check your own bill.

The demand charge, for larger sites

The basic charge is already on your bill, so a machine adds only energy on Small General Service. On Medium General Service it can also add to your peak demand. A drink machine averages about 0.17 kW (3.99 kWh ÷ 24 hours), which adds at least about $1 a month at $6.07 per kW. The most it can add is its rated draw: a Crane BevMax MEDIA2 is rated 115 V and 7.5 A, about 0.86 kW, or about $5.24 a month if its compressor happened to run during your monthly peak. Most months it will be closer to the low end.

What we couldn't find

  • Non-refrigerated snack machines. No government or ENERGY STAR figure is published. Use the watts option with the nameplate, or better, a plug-in meter for a week. A snack machine's nameplate is often around 3 A at 115 V (AMS and Crane spec sheets), but that's a maximum, not its average.
  • Glass-door coolers and "smart fridges". ENERGY STAR reports savings for glass-door refrigerators but we couldn't retrieve a per-day figure. Look up your model in the ENERGY STAR product finder, then use the kWh option.
  • ENERGY STAR's own savings claim. Its vending page says certified machines are "on average 9% more efficient" and "save about 1,000 kWh annually". Those two figures don't agree for a 1,400 kWh machine, so we've used FEMP's test figures instead.

About this data

This calculator multiplies daily energy use by 365 days and by the energy charge you pick, then by the number of machines. It shows energy charges only: no GST, no rate riders and no basic charge (which you pay whether or not a machine is plugged in). Real use varies with room temperature, how often the door is opened and whether the machine has a low-power mode, which ENERGY STAR requires. Figures were checked on 2026-09-26. This is an estimate, not a quote from BC Hydro.

Sources

Frequently asked questions

How many kWh does a vending machine use in a year?

A full-size refrigerated drink machine (about 30 cubic feet) uses about 1,354 kWh a year if it's an ENERGY STAR model and about 1,456 kWh a year at the federal limit, according to the US Department of Energy's FEMP. Snack machines without refrigeration use less, but no official figure is published for them.

What does a vending machine cost to run on BC Hydro's business rate?

At BC Hydro's Small General Service energy charge of 14.06 cents per kWh (checked September 26, 2026), a refrigerated drink machine costs about $190–205 a year, or roughly $16–17 a month, before GST. An older machine built between 2012 and 2018 can cost up to about $18 a month.

Does Canada regulate how much electricity vending machines use?

Yes. Canada's Energy Efficiency Regulations, 2016 set a maximum daily energy use for refrigerated beverage vending machines, tested to CSA C804. For a Class A machine built since January 8, 2019, the limit is 0.00184 times the volume in litres plus 2.43 kWh a day.

Can I ask the operator to pay the power?

You can ask. Most VendFynd locations receive a commission, agreed in writing before install. By default the host provides the outlet and pays the electricity, which is why it's worth knowing the real number before you sign.