Home Ice Maker vs Bagged Ice Cost Calculator

Why compare a home ice maker to bagged ice?

Bagged ice is one of those “small” purchases that can quietly become a recurring expense—weekend parties, coolers for road trips, daily iced coffee, or keeping a stocked bar. A portable countertop ice maker replaces those store runs with an appliance that turns tap water and electricity into ice. The trade-off is that homemade ice has ongoing operating costs (electricity and water) and an up‑front purchase price. This calculator estimates the break-even point: how many “bag equivalents” you need to make at home before the savings compared to store-bought bags repay the cost of the machine.

What this calculator outputs

• Homemade cost per bag equivalent (electricity + water).
• Savings per bag (bag price − homemade cost per bag).
• Break-even bags (how many bag equivalents to repay the machine price).
• Break-even months (break-even bags divided by your bags used per month).

Inputs explained (and how to choose them)

Ice maker purchase price ($)

The up-front cost of the unit (including tax/shipping if you want a more realistic payback). If you already own the machine, you can set this to what you paid to see whether it’s “paid off” yet.

Ice maker power draw (W)

This is the operating wattage while producing ice. You can use the nameplate rating, a product listing, or (best) a plug-in power meter measurement. Many machines cycle—so the real average draw can be lower than the peak rating—so treat this as an estimate unless measured.

Hours to produce one bag equivalent

This converts “ice maker output” into the same unit as what you buy at the store: a bag. You can define a bag equivalent as your typical bag size (often 7–10 lb). If your machine makes ~1 lb/hour and your usual bag is 10 lb, then this value is about 10 hours per bag equivalent.

Electricity price ($/kWh)

Use your all-in electricity rate from your bill (including delivery/fees if they’re effectively per kWh). If you’re unsure, many households land somewhere around $0.10–$0.30/kWh depending on region and plan.

Water cost per bag ($)

This can be small, but it’s not always zero—especially if you use filtered water (pitcher filters, under-sink filters) or buy distilled water for taste/scale prevention. If you want a quick estimate for tap water, you can set a few cents per bag equivalent.

Price of bagged ice ($)

Use the typical price you actually pay (including tax or convenience store markup). If prices vary, use an average.

Bags used per month

Your monthly consumption in bag equivalents. If you use two 10 lb bags every weekend, that’s roughly 8 bags/month.

Formulas used

The calculator converts watt-hours to kilowatt-hours, multiplies by electricity price, then adds water cost.

1) Electricity cost per bag equivalent

Let:

• P = ice maker power draw (watts)
• H = hours to produce one bag equivalent
• E = electricity price ($/kWh)

2) Homemade cost per bag equivalent

Let W be water cost per bag equivalent:

HomemadeCost = (P/1000) × H × E + W

3) Savings per bag equivalent

Let B be the price of bagged ice ($):

SavingsPerBag = B − HomemadeCost

4) Break-even point

Let C be the purchase price of the ice maker. Break-even bags is:

BreakEvenBags = C / SavingsPerBag

Break-even months is:

BreakEvenMonths = BreakEvenBags / (BagsPerMonth)

Interpreting your results

• If SavingsPerBag is large, the payback is fast—bagged ice is expensive relative to your utility costs.
• If SavingsPerBag is small, payback is slow—either electricity is expensive, the machine is inefficient (high wattage and/or long hours per bag), or bagged ice is cheap where you live.
• If SavingsPerBag ≤ 0, the machine does not “pay for itself” on cost alone under your assumptions. You may still prefer it for convenience, freshness, or availability.
• BreakEvenMonths depends heavily on usage. An occasional user may never hit break-even, while a frequent entertainer might hit it quickly.

Worked example

Assume:

• Machine price C = $120
• Power P = 120 W
• Time per bag equivalent H = 8 hours
• Electricity E = $0.15/kWh
• Water W = $0.05 per bag
• Bag price B = $3.00
• Usage = 6 bags/month

Electricity per bag = (120/1000) × 8 × 0.15 = 0.144

Homemade cost per bag = 0.144 + 0.05 = $0.194

Savings per bag = 3.00 − 0.194 = $2.806

Break-even bags = 120 / 2.806 ≈ 42.8 bags

Break-even months = 42.8 / 6 ≈ 7.1 months

Scenario comparison

The table below shows how payback can change as bag price and electricity price change. Assumptions for all rows: C=$120, P=120 W, H=8 hours per bag equivalent, W=$0.05.

Assumptions & limitations

• “Bag equivalent” is user-defined. Bagged ice is often sold by weight (e.g., 7–10 lb), while ice makers are often advertised by “lb per day” under specific test conditions. Your true bag equivalent should match what you buy.
• Rated wattage may not equal average wattage. Many units cycle the compressor and pump. Using nameplate watts can overestimate electricity cost; using a power meter can improve accuracy.
• Standby/idle power may be excluded. If you leave the machine on 24/7, idle draw and melt/re-freeze losses can add cost not captured by “hours per bag.”
• Ambient temperature and water temperature matter. Warmer rooms or warmer inlet water can increase run time and energy use per bag equivalent.
• Maintenance and consumables aren’t included. Descaling/cleaning supplies, filters (if used), and potential repairs can reduce savings. On the other hand, store trips (time/fuel) could increase the effective cost of bagged ice.
• Ice storage losses aren’t modeled. If you make ice in batches and store it, melting and clumping can reduce usable ice and effectively increase cost.
• Quality/convenience benefits aren’t priced. Many people value always having ice available; others prefer the cube shape/clarity of store ice. The calculator focuses on direct dollar cost only.

Practical tips to improve accuracy

• Measure real usage: track how many bags you buy over 1–2 months.
• Use a plug-in power meter for a day to estimate kWh per “bag equivalent.”
• Set “water cost per bag” to include filter cartridges if you use filtered water (cartridge cost divided by the number of bag equivalents it supports).