A cone 6 glaze firing typically costs $8 to $16 in electricity for a mid to large studio kiln. This is based on real, published examples from kiln manufacturers. The exact number depends on your kiln’s wattage, your local electric rate, and how long the firing runs. Skutt’s own published example puts one of their largest kilns at $11.84 for a full cone 6 firing. That’s at average U.S. electric rates.
This guide breaks down the real formula behind that cost. It includes worked examples, so you can estimate your own kiln’s firing cost.
The Formula Behind Every Firing Cost
Every kiln’s firing cost comes from four numbers multiplied together. You need the kiln’s wattage, converted to kilowatts. The firing time in hours matters too, along with your electric rate per kilowatt-hour. Finally, you need something called duty cycle.
Duty cycle is the piece most people miss. A kiln’s elements don’t run at full power the entire firing. They cycle on and off to control the temperature ramp. Skutt’s own engineering has a real estimate for this. Across a typical ConeFire program, elements are drawing power only about 50 percent of the time. Other sources put glaze firings closer to 60 to 65 percent instead. The kiln works harder to hold higher temperatures near the end of a cone 6 firing, which explains the difference.
How Kiln Size Changes the Cost
Kiln size has a real, direct effect on firing cost. A larger kiln draws more wattage to heat a bigger chamber. Small test kilns rated around 1.5 kW might cost well under a dollar for a two-hour firing. Larger production kilns at 11.5 kW or more can run $15 or higher for the same cone and duty cycle. They’re simply moving far more heat through a much larger space.
This doesn’t mean a smaller kiln is always cheaper per piece, though. A large kiln holds significantly more work in a single load. So splitting the same work across several small-kiln firings often costs more in total electricity. That’s because each firing carries its own fixed startup cost, no matter how much is inside.
A Real Worked Example
Take a mid-size kiln rated at 11.5 kW. That’s a common rating for a 7 cubic foot studio kiln. A cone 6 glaze firing on a kiln this size typically runs 8 to 12 hours. That’s from start to peak temperature.
Here’s the math for a 12-hour firing. Use a 0.65 duty cycle and the national average electric rate of $0.18 per kWh. Multiply 11.5 kW by 12 hours by 0.65 duty cycle by $0.18. That equals roughly $16.15 for that firing. Use a more careful 50 percent duty cycle instead, and that same firing drops closer to $12.42.
Skutt’s Own Published Numbers
Skutt has actually published their own real-world example for this exact question. They fired one of their largest kilns, a KM-1231PK, with a full 100-pound load to cone 6. The program used medium-speed ConeFire mode. At the U.S. average rate of $0.12 per kWh, the total came out to $11.84.
For comparison, Skutt also notes that firing their smaller Model 818 to a lower cone 06 costs only about $2.83. So smaller kilns firing to lower temperatures cost meaningfully less than larger kilns pushed to cone 6.
Why Bisque Firings Cost Less
A bisque firing to cone 06 or cone 04 costs noticeably less. That holds true even on the same kiln pushed to cone 6 for a glaze firing instead. Bisque firings also run shorter, typically 6 to 10 hours. The duty cycle stays closer to 50 percent too. The kiln isn’t working as hard to reach that lower temperature.
Glaze firings to cone 6 push the kiln further. Longer firing time and a higher duty cycle both add real cost, even before accounting for a higher electric rate.
What Actually Changes Your Number
Your local electric rate matters most of all. Rates vary from around $0.09 per kWh in some states to $0.20 or more in others. So check your own utility bill rather than assuming a national average applies to your specific location.
Your kiln’s exact wattage matters too. This number is printed directly on the kiln’s data plate or listed in its manual. Use that exact figure instead of estimating from cubic footage alone. Two kilns of similar size can carry very different wattage ratings.
What This Means Per Piece
Total firing cost matters less than cost per piece if you’re selling your work. Take that $16 firing on a full 7 cubic foot kiln loaded with 30 mugs, for example. That works out to roughly 53 cents in electricity per mug. That’s a small fraction of what any mug actually sells for.
This math changes fast with a half-empty kiln, though. The same $16 firing with only 15 mugs inside doubles your per-piece cost to about $1.07. A kiln costs nearly the same to fire whether it’s full or half full. Waiting to fire a completely full load is one of the simplest ways to keep your real production costs down.
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Tracking Your Own Costs Going Forward
Some newer digital kiln controllers can calculate the cost of each firing automatically. Just enter your local electric rate into the settings once. If your kiln has this feature, it removes most of the guesswork from this whole process.
Don’t have that feature? A simple kilowatt-hour meter plugged between your kiln and the outlet gives you an exact reading. Try it for a single firing. That’s the most accurate way to know your real cost, rather than relying on formulas and estimates alone.
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