How much does it cost to run a window air conditioner per hour

What Does it Cost to Run a 5000 BTU Air Conditioner?

1. Locate the amperage of your 5,000-Btu air conditioner. There will generally be a tag on the bottom or inside the filter panel with the specifications that you need. Most 5,000-Btu air conditioning units are rated at around 5 amperes.

2. Calculate the wattage from the amperes. For example, multiply the 5-amp figure by how many volts there are at the outlet. In most cases this will be 110. Therefore, 5 x 110 = 550 watts. This figure will allow you to calculate your kilowatt-hours.

3. Find out what you are paying for each kilowatt-hour from your local electric company. The national average is approximately 12 cents.

4. Determine how much the air conditioner would cost to run over a 24-hour period. Use the basic formula of watts x hours of use ÷ 1,000 x cost per kilowatt-hour = cost of operation. (Dividing by 1,000 changes watt-hours to kilowatt-hours.) For example, in this case the mathematical formula looks like this: 550 x 24 ÷ 1,000 x $0.12. The cost to run a 5-amp, 5,000-Btu air conditioner over a 24-hour period is about $1.60.

5. Divide the cost per day by how many hours in a day to get an hourly cost amount. For example, $1.60 divided by 24. The answer shows that it will cost 6 cents to run every hour.

6. Multiply the per day cost, $1.60, by seven days to get a weekly cost. In this instance it will cost $11.20 per week to run continuously. Multiply the weekly amount by how many weeks in a month (4) to get a monthly cost. In this case, the cost per month will be approximately $45. A yearly cost can be determined by multiplying the cost per week, $11.20, by how many weeks in a year, 52. The total approximate yearly amount to run a 5,000-Btu air conditioner continuously will be about $585.

Tip

The cost to operate the unit will vary from region to region. In the San Francisco Bay Area, for example, the kilowatt-hour cost is about 63 percent greater than the national average, so it would cost about $950 annually to run a 5,000-Btu air conditioner.

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