ANNIVERSARY EXTRA 25% OFF* Common Questions about Window Air Conditioners Published May 27, 2010 | Updated August 5, 2015 A great way to beat the heat is by installing a window air conditioner in your home or office. Using individual air conditioners and heaters in your home can take the load off of your central heating and air conditioning system, providing you with significant energy savings over the course of a year. Here are some frequently asked questions about window air conditioners and how you can use them in your home. Shop Air Conditioners & Heaters ▸ Will window air conditioners work in any window?Window air conditioners are built to fit multiple window types, including those that open vertically or horizontally. Many window air conditioners include adjustable panels, which help them expand to fit and seal most window openings. Be sure to measure your window and compare it to the air conditioner dimensions. What is a "SEER" rating?The SEER rating is a rating of window air conditioner efficiency.

The higher the SEER rating, the more BTUs of cooling power your window air conditioner creates for every watt of power. SEER ratings are calculated by dividing the number of BTUs by the watts used per hour.ac wall units for homes How much energy does a window air conditioner use?window ac units tipsTo calculate your window air conditioner's energy use, divide the BTUs by the SEER rating. window ac units and securityThis gives you the watts per hour. Divide that by 1,000 to get kilowatt hours (kWh), which is probably how your electric company calculates your energy bill. You can then multiply the kWh by your power company rate to learn your costs per hour. For example, a 12,000 BTU air conditioner with a SEER rating of 10 and a cost of 25 cents per kWh would calculate as follows:

12,000 BTUs / SEER 10 = 1,200 W = 1.2 kWh 1.2 kWh x $0.25 = $0.30 per hour to run your window air conditioner. At 8 hours a day for 125 days of summer, your window air conditioner will have an annual running cost of $300 a year. How often should I clean the air filter?Usually, window air conditioners need new filters every three months. If you live in an area with a lot of dust or pollen, you may want to replace it more frequently. Clogged air filters can impair the performance of your window air conditioner and increase your energy costs. 262 posts, read 495,655 times 18,512 posts, read 22,111,878 times Originally Posted by HtownLove I don't know about efficiency, but central A/C uses a lot more power overall. Saving on air conditioning & cooling - by Ask Mr. Electricity Originally Posted by AD1985 That's a BS article. IF you need 5 tons of cooling and only have 2.5 tons, then of course your bills will be higher because your unit will run constantly.

secondly, central AC isn't designed to run constantly, it is designed to cycle, and like I said before if your tonnage is lower than needed you won't get a good cycling going on. thirdly, of course if you are running something that is 1440 watts constantly and running something that is 3000 watts constantly the one that is 1440 watts will obviously going to result in lower watts used. But the author neglects the fact that central AC is not supposed to run constantly. Central AC is supposed to be running less than 25% of the time, so you are supposed to divide the wattage of the central AC by at least 4. Finally, the central Ac works more efficiently, and gives a more even cooling if it is done right. When I lived in San Antonio the house had window units in the bedroom and the living room. It had a closed layout (the kitchen opened out into the dining room through a door, which then opened up into the living room where the AC was. Every time we cooked we had to either open the kitchen door or die of heat stroke.

If the house was cooled by central air, the unit would suck out the heat from the kitchen and replace that with cooled air. The window units didn't cool the kitchen one bit 26,349 posts, read 68,900,480 times 5,286 posts, read 14,859,778 times I didn't realize that a house can be cooled in extreme heat without working continuously. I'm trying to read more about how central A/C cycles on/off, do you have any good sources? no, sorry I don't , but yes even in extreme heat an AC is designed to cycle. do you know whether you are moving to a studio or some place bigger? If you get just a studio then the window unit will pull the least electricity. Central AC is expensive to install though. It usually runs about $5000. if you are moving to a place that is humid that will be another factor as central units dehumidify the air a lot better. The best I have ever seen are the chill water systems. My first apartment had one and we had to pay in to use it.

The fee ranged from 8 dollars to 12 dollars, which was great because I didn't have to worry about AC on my electric bill and normally paid about 25 bucks for electricity. Having one big chiller instead of individual units cuts down the cost dramatically.How to Calculate Cost of Running an 8000 BTU Window AC An air conditioner's BTU (for British Thermal Unit) rating is a measure of its cooling power. An 8,000 BTU window unit, for instance, can typically cool a room of 300 to 350 square feet, according to the California Energy Commission. However, window AC units with the same BTU rating can use different amounts of power to achieve that cooling. A unit's Energy Efficiency Rating, or EER, gives consumers an idea of how efficient a unit it. Of units with the same BTUs, the higher thr EER, the greater its efficiency, and the less it costs to operate. Check the air conditioner for the wattage, which is the amount of power the device uses per hour. This number may be printed on the side, on a tag attached to the electrical cord or in the manual.

You may find amps instead of watts. If this is the case, multiply the amps by the voltage in your country, which is 120 in the U.S., to get the wattage. For example, if the unit is 7.0 amps, the wattage is calculated by multiplying 7.00 amps by 120 volts to equal 840 watts. Alternatively, if the unit has an EER, divide 8,000 by the EER to get the unit's wattage. For example, an 8,000 BTU unit with an EER of 10.8 uses 740 watts. Check your electrical bill to find your cost per kilowatt-hour, or kW, of electricity. You may need to add up the separate supply and deliver charges to determine your total cost per kilowatt-hour. Divide the air conditioner's watts by 1,000 to convert it to kilowatts. For example, the 840 watt air conditioner would be 840 divided by 1,000, or 0.84 kW. Multiply the kW by the cost per kilowatt-hour to get how much it will cost to run your air conditioner for one hour. For example, if your electricity costs 11.1 cents dollars per kilowatt-hour, you would multiply 0.84 kW by $0.111, which equals $0.09324 per hour, or 9.324 cents per hour.

Determine how many hours you will run your air conditioner each day, then multiply this by 30 to get approximately how many hours it will run each month. For example, if you plan to run the air conditioner for three hours each evening, multiply 3 by 30 to get approximately 90 hours a month. Multiply the hours per month by the dollars per hour from your earlier calculation to get the cost to run your air conditioner each month. For an air conditioner cost of $0.09324 per hour running at 90 hours a month, the total cost equals $8.39 per month. Calculate the cost per month when comparing air conditioners with different efficiencies to purchase, to determine which will actually be cheaper to own over the course of a few years. U.S. Department of Energy: Room Air Conditioners How Much Will It Cost Me to Run an Air Conditoner?. The Average Annual Cost of Central Air Conditioners Vs. Window... A 5,000-BTU air conditioner moves less heat than an 8,000-BTU air conditioner, ...

Different models of air conditioners may use electric power... One of the largest home utility costs is that of air conditioning. Air conditioning requires significant electrical resources to power compressors and... How Much Space Does a 12000 BTU Air Conditioner Cool?. The total number of British thermal units (Btus) ... How Much Does it Cost to Run a Portable Air Conditioner?. What Does it Cost to Run a 5000 BTU Air... An 8,000 BTU air conditioner is rated to cool up to 350 square feet and can spike to over 15 amps, ...... ... prices on wall mount air conditioners start at around $450 for an 8,000 BTU air conditioner. ... an evaporative cooler can... How to Calculate Cost of Running an 8000 BTU Window AC. ... What Does Btu Mean for an Air Conditioner? How Much Do Electric Heaters Cost to Run? What Appliances Can I Run With a 6,500-Watt Power Generator? Rates hit 2.65% APR (15 yr). See if you're eligible The amazing 2-step process to pay off your credit cards