The requested URL /sdmb/showthread.php?t=617551 was not found on this server. The Cost of Running the Air-Conditioner Con Edison wants shopkeepers to know that keeping their doors open, with the air-conditioning on, cannot just lead to a civil penalty, but also is a waste of money. The City Council overwhelmingly passed legislation on Thursday that would fine businesses that pump air-conditioning into the street via open shop doors. A warning is issued for the first offense. But businesses caught a second time will be fined $200; the third time costs $400. Con Edison, which tries to get customers to curtail wasteful use of electricity to avoid having to build more substations and other infrastructure, has created a flier [pdf] to remind people of how much more businesses spend when they keep their doors ajar. According to the flier, a 10,000-square-foot business that leaves its door open eight hours a day, five days a week, from June to September with the air-conditioner running, wastes 4,200 kilowatt hours of electricity and spends an additional $1,000.