The short answer
Manitoba Hydro’s standard residential energy charge is 9.970 cents per kilowatt-hour, effective January 1, 2026. An electric heating mat typically draws 12 to 15 watts per square foot while it is on. Multiply the two and you have the cost per hour at full power, before tax.
Three rooms, worked out
These use 12 watts per square foot and assume the mat runs at full power for six hours a day, 30 days a month.
- Small bathroom, 40 sq ft of mat: 480 watts, about 5 cents an hour, about $8.60 a month.
- Large ensuite, 70 sq ft of mat: 840 watts, about 8 cents an hour, about $15 a month.
- Basement room, 150 sq ft of mat: 1,800 watts, about 18 cents an hour, about $32 a month.
These are upper limits at six hours a day, before tax. A thermostat switches the mat off once the floor is warm, so it doesn’t run at full power for the whole six hours. A mat rated at 15 watts per square foot costs a quarter more per hour at full power.
To do the math for your own room
- Measure the open floor that gets the mat, not the whole room. Mats don’t go under vanities, cabinets or tubs.
- Multiply the square feet by the watts per square foot on the mat’s spec sheet.
- Divide by 1,000 to get kilowatts, then multiply by 9.97 for the cost in cents per hour at full power.
What keeps the cost down
- A programmable thermostat, so the floor warms up before you get up and shuts off when nobody is there.
- Insulation under the mat on a cold concrete slab, so the heat goes up instead of down into the ground.
- A sensible setting. You want the floor comfortable under bare feet, not hot.
What to plan for besides the power bill
The mat goes down before the tile, so this is a decision to make before work starts. We set electric heating mats under the tile, ready for your electrician to connect, and the electrician handles the circuit, the thermostat wiring and the electrical permit. Inside Winnipeg, permits come from the City; outside it, usually from Manitoba Hydro. Choose a mat certified for Canada, with a mark from a recognized body such as CSA. Larger rooms often use a 240-volt mat, which draws half the amps of a 120-volt mat for the same heat. Your electrician can tell you what your panel has room for.
Most mats are meant to take the chill off a floor. If you want one to be a room’s main heat, that’s a separate design question for your HVAC contractor or electrician.