How Many Watts Do Window Air Conditioners Use

How Many Watts Does A Window Air-conditioning Apply?

If you're shopping for a window air conditioner, there's an official standard for efficiency you should understand: the combined energy efficiency ratio, or CEER, which represents the number of BTUs of estrus per hour an air conditioner removes for every watt of electricity it consumes. The Section of Energy "Energy Star" rating is given to window air conditioners that rate meliorate than 11. That works out to the post-obit figures for popular sizes:

For a modest chamber, a 5,000 BTU window unit should simply use 450 watts
A mid-size 8,000 BTU AC should use fewer than 715 watts
A big fourteen,000 BTU air conditioner should simply employ 1,250 watts

Fifty-fifty the least-expensive units we researched for our review of the all-time window air conditioners got a score of xi, and all of our picks were rated 12 or 12.1.

When we tested 8,000 BTU window air conditioners, we also tested the power draw on every cooling and fan setting with an electricity usage monitor. As you lot can see, at that place is some difference, simply information technology's not very big.

Setting	Frigidaire	Friedrich	LG	Average
Idle (Watts)	1	0.6	1.5	1
Fan - Low (Watts)	88.8	64.4	116	90
Fan - Hi (Watts)	114	75.2	129	106
Ac - Low (Watts)	573	520	530	541
AC - Hi (Watts)	574	538	543	552
Efficiency Ratio (CEER)	12.one	12.2	12.1	12.1

The latest and most efficient variable-speed window units like this bigger model from LG or the brand-new Midea U-shaped unit rate as high as 14.7 and 15, merely you'll pay extra upwardly-front to clasp out that extra efficiency.

Window vs portable air conditioner efficiency

Compared to portable air conditioners, window units are engineering science marvels: Well-nigh portable designs can't even hitting an efficiency rating of meliorate than 7 or 8 in real-world conditions, and and so a rating is rarely listed. You'll apply about 50% more than electricity to get the same amount of cooling, and that's assuming but moderate outdoor heat — on the hottest days, fifty-fifty the best portable air conditioners tin't keep upward.

Window Ac watts vs. central systems

Comparison window units to primal air conditioning is trickier, though, since the efficiency rating system most often advertised is different.

Window unit CEER is based on the BTUs per hr removed when it's 95 degrees outside, as defined by the Air Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Plant standard 210/240. That same standard defines another calculation called the "Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio" (SEER) to average out efficiency over an entire year, including a standardized number of days out of the year an air conditioner is non running.

That ways the SEER rating for a central air conditioner is ever college than the CEER of a window unit, even sometimes if the central arrangement is actually less efficient. If you tin discover a non-"seasonal" EER rating for a key system, that is a number you can more closely compare with the CEER of a window unit of measurement.

Energy Star lists the most-efficient central air-conditioning systems, among which we found a Lennox unit that hitting a class-leading EER of 16 (SEER of 26) for a small 24000-BTU central system. It'll utilise about 1400 watts to cool about 1200 square feet of a house in average summertime conditions, and even less if yous just need a little bit of cooling. A less-efficient Mr. Cool model from Abode Depot with the same capacity but a SEER of xiv.5 will use virtually 1,000 watts more, and only runs at 1 speed.

Remember, though, that even if the efficiencies are comparable the way you use a primal air conditioner is unlike from a key system. You're spending less on electricity because you're just cooling off i room when you're in it, only y'all have to settle for more noise and an obstructed window.

Watts vs amps

If you already own an air conditioner (or other electrical appliance) it will have a label that tells you how many amperes ("amps") of current they tin draw. You may not take a listing for watts at all.

The rating for maximum amps is the most important number to know for electrical appliances, since it's this factor that moves you lot closer to the limit of your excursion breaker.

To figure out your summit power draw in watts, you lot can just multiply amps by the voltage of your electric system. If you're using this number for breezy calculations and comparisons, you can assume 120 volts for standard wall-mountain outlets in North American homes, just a 5% change higher or lower isn't unusual.

Newer homes should take xx-amp breakers dedicated to each room, and hopefully more than one in a room you'd put an air conditioner in. Sadly, many of us are stuck with older homes or apartments that accept 15-amp breakers shared between multiple rooms.

If yous're putting in an appliance that will run constantly like an air conditioner, it'southward well worth finding out which outlets and lights are on which breakers to avoid overloading a circuit. Equally a rule of pollex, anything with an electrical heater in it — a pilus dryer, a kettle, or even a keurig — tin draw enough amps to trip a billow if you've already got some other small appliance running.

How many BTUs do you demand?

If you lot're not sure what size of air conditioner y'all should look for, we've taken the size recommendations from the Department of Free energy and fabricated a figurer to help you detect the BTU capacity you need.

What is the size of the room you need cooled in square feet?

Is your room heavily shaded?

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Does your room go straight sunlight?

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How many people regularly occupy the room?

Is the unit used in a kitchen?

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Daniel Jackson, Author

Daniel is a Canadian farm male child who grew upwards to be a nerd with a literature degree and too many hobbies to count. He emigrated from Canada to California in 2013, and now writes for Your Best Digs total-time. Daniel remains unapologetic about Canadian spelling, series commas, and the destruction of expensive travel mugs.