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AIR CONDITIONING & HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS
A/C COMPONENTS
A/C DATA TAGS
A/C DIAGNOSTIC FAQs
A/C REFRIGERANTS
A/C TYPES, ENERGY SOURCES
AIR CONDITIONER BTU CHART
AIR FILTERS for HVAC SYSTEMS
AIR HANDLER UNITS
BOOKSTORE - Air Conditioning "How To" Books
CLEANING & Legionella BACTERIA
COMPRESSOR CONDENSER
CONDENSATE HANDLING
CONTROLS & SWITCHES
COOL OFF HEAT Thermostat Switch
COOLING CAPACITY, RATED
COOLING COIL or EVAPORATOR COIL
DATA TAGS on AIR CONDITIONERS
COMBUSTION GASES & PARTICLE HAZARDS
COMBUSTION PRODUCTS & IAQ
DEFINITION of Heating & Cooling Terms
DEW POINT CALCULATION for WALLS
DEW POINT TABLE - CONDENSATION POINT GUIDE
DUCT SYSTEMS
DUCTS - Asbestos
DUCT SYSTEM DEFECTS
DUCT INSULATION, Asbestos Paper
DUCT INSULATION for SOUNDPROOFING
DUCTS, Asbestos Transite Pipe
DUST FROM HVAC?
ENERGY SAVINGS in BUILDINGS
EVAPORATIVE COOLING SYSTEMS
FAN AUTO ON Thermostat Switch
FAN CONVECTOR HEATERS - HYDRONIC COILS
HEAT LOSS (or GAIN) in BUILDINGS
INDOOR AIR QUALITY & HOUSE TIGHTNESS
INDOOR AIR QUALITY IMPROVEMENT GUIDE
INSPECTION LIMITATIONS
LOST COOLING CAPACITY
MOTOR OVERLOAD RESET SWITCH
OPERATING COST
OPERATING DEFECTS
OPERATING TEMPERATURES
REPAIR GUIDE for AIR CONDITIONERS
REPAIR & DIAGNOSTIC FAQs for A/C
REFRIGERANTS
SEER RATINGS & OTHER DEFINITIONS
SYSTEM OPERATION
SWAMP COOLERS
THERMOSTATS
THERMOSTATIC EXPANSION VALVES
CRITICAL DEFECTS on A/C SYSTEMS
FURNACES WARM AIR HEATING SYSTEMS
INDOOR AIR QUALITY & HOUSE TIGHTNESS
INDOOR AIR QUALITY IMPROVEMENT GUIDE
MOLD INFORMATION CENTER

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Photograph of  this unusual attic air conditioning system is an example of the range of human creativity observed during a career of building inspections Air Conditioner Costs
Air Conditioning Operating Cost Guide
InspectAPedia®  -    

This website answers most questions about air conditioning systems:
  • How do we calcualte the seasonal cost to operate an air conditioner?
  • How do we calculate the air conditioning cost per hour? What are Watt hours? What's a Kilowatt?
Our site offers impartial, unbiased advice without conflicts of interest. We will block advertisements which we discover or readers inform us are associated with bad business practices, false-advertising, or junk science. Our contact info is at InspectAPedia.com/appointment.htm.

This article explains how to calculate the actual cost of operating an air condtioning system in easy to understand language. This website answers most questions about air conditioning systems. We continue to add to and update this text as new details are provided. Contact us to suggest text changes and additions and, if you wish, to receive online listing and credit for that contribution. © Copyright 2010 Daniel Friedman, All Rights Reserved. Information Accuracy & Bias Pledge is at below-left. Use links at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.

How Much Does It Cost to Run An Air Conditioner?

In the previous section of this article we explained SEER ratings that measure air conditioning system efficiency, and we explained how we can determine how much energy an air conditioner uses either by the hour of by the season of use. At the end of that section we knew how much energy our air conditioner used, either on an hourly basis or for use during the whole cooling season. We were able to express the total air conditioning energy used in BTUs or in Kilowatts per hour or per season. Here we complete the process of translating air conditioner use into actual dollar costs.

How Much Will It Cost Per Year to Run An Air Conditioner?

In the United States for December 2007 the average retail price of electricity paid by residential consumers ranged from about $0.063 per kWh (Idaho) to $0.287 per kWh (Hawaii). Your electrical bill will indicate the current charge per kilowatt hour kWh of electricity you use.

How to use the air conditioning cost formula:

  • Plug in your actual Air Conditioner's Wh: Where we used 500, plug into the equation below the actual Watt Hours Wh your air conditioner uses, by following the procedure in the previous section of this article.

  • Plug in your electric bill kWh rate: Just plug in to the equation example below the cost per kWh of electricity from your electric bill where we've used $0.25.

  • Multiply these two numbers. Just below, we use an example of $0.25 or 25 cents per kWh cost from an electric utility company. [Electrical costs provided by the U.S. Department of Energy at eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/epm/table5_6_a.html]
  • 500 kWh used per season x $0.25 = $125.00 - that's your electricity cost to run the air conditioner for a season.

    How Much Does It Cost Per Hour to Run An Air Conditioning System

    This is an even simpler calculation. Using as an example information from our example air conditioner's data tag,

    ((5000 BTUh) / (10 SEER)) = 500 Wh

    500 Wh x $0.25 = $0.12 per hour to run our air conditioner.

    Other Equations Using SEER Ratings

    We can also write the SEER equation shown above as:

    SEER = BTUs / Watt-hours
    where "watt-hours" = (number of hours of system operation) x (watts used per hour)

    For more definitions of heating and air conditioning terms see SEER RATINGS & OTHER DEFINITIONS.

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    Technical Reviewers & References

    Use links just below or at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.

    A/C COMPONENTS
    A/C DATA TAGS
    A/C DIAGNOSTIC FAQs
    A/C REFRIGERANTS
    A/C TYPES, ENERGY SOURCES
    AIR CONDITIONER BTU CHART
    AIR FILTERS for HVAC SYSTEMS
    AIR HANDLER UNITS
    BOOKSTORE - Air Conditioning "How To" Books
    CLEANING & Legionella BACTERIA
    COMPRESSOR CONDENSER
    CONDENSATE HANDLING
    CONTROLS & SWITCHES
    COOL OFF HEAT Thermostat Switch
    COOLING CAPACITY, RATED
    COOLING COIL or EVAPORATOR COIL
    DATA TAGS on AIR CONDITIONERS
    COMBUSTION GASES & PARTICLE HAZARDS
    COMBUSTION PRODUCTS & IAQ
    DEFINITION of Heating & Cooling Terms
    DEW POINT CALCULATION for WALLS
    DEW POINT TABLE - CONDENSATION POINT GUIDE
    DUCT SYSTEMS
    DUCTS - Asbestos
    DUCT SYSTEM DEFECTS
    DUCT INSULATION, Asbestos Paper
    DUCT INSULATION for SOUNDPROOFING
    DUCTS, Asbestos Transite Pipe
    DUST FROM HVAC?
    ENERGY SAVINGS in BUILDINGS
    EVAPORATIVE COOLING SYSTEMS
    FAN AUTO ON Thermostat Switch
    FAN CONVECTOR HEATERS - HYDRONIC COILS
    HEAT LOSS (or GAIN) in BUILDINGS
    INDOOR AIR QUALITY & HOUSE TIGHTNESS
    INDOOR AIR QUALITY IMPROVEMENT GUIDE
    INSPECTION LIMITATIONS
    LOST COOLING CAPACITY
    MOTOR OVERLOAD RESET SWITCH
    OPERATING COST
    OPERATING DEFECTS
    OPERATING TEMPERATURES
    REPAIR GUIDE for AIR CONDITIONERS
    REPAIR & DIAGNOSTIC FAQs for A/C
    REFRIGERANTS
    SEER RATINGS & OTHER DEFINITIONS
    SYSTEM OPERATION
    SWAMP COOLERS
    THERMOSTATS
    THERMOSTATIC EXPANSION VALVES
    CRITICAL DEFECTS on A/C SYSTEMS
    FURNACES WARM AIR HEATING SYSTEMS
    INDOOR AIR QUALITY IMPROVEMENT GUIDE

    Books & Articles on Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, & Repair

    AIR CONDITIONING & HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS
    Air Conditioning "How To" Books
    FURNACES WARM AIR HEATING SYSTEMS

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    Air Conditioning & Heat Pumps
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    Electrical
    Environment
    Exteriors
    Heating
    Home Inspection
    Insulate Ventilate
    Interiors
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    Contact Us

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