While most people tend to think about the upfront cost of purchasing a new window air conditioner there is another side of cost that is often overlooked. We all remember the days as kids when our parents would yell at us for leaving the front door or window open during the summer. There was a reason for this. By letting that hot air into the house your air conditioner has to work harder which results in a higher power bill at the end of the month.
First, let me give you the bad news. It is almost impossible to estimate the cost to run a unit as there are so many variables that come into play. Just a few of these are:
- What temperature you have the air conditioner set at. If you are keeping your home cooled at sixty-four degrees in the dead of summer then expect to pay a lot per month!
- What climate you are in. Rather you are in Miami or Rochester makes a heck of a difference to your monthly power bills. I’m not just talking heat either, the humidity in the ‘tropical’ states like Florida is something to be reckoned with and will make your air conditioner work that much harder.
- This one should be obvious, but I will mention it anyways. The larger the air conditioner the more you will pay more month. As an example a 5,000 BTU unit will cost a lot less to run than a 10,000 BTU unit.
- How often will you be running the air conditioner? Is it just going to be in your bedroom and you run it while you are sleeping? If so you will save quite a bit of money. However, if you are going to be running it all day then your bill is going to go up.
- Lastly, if you are cooling an individual room are you keeping the door to the hallway closed? If connected to a bathroom are you keeping that door closed as well? The more sealed the area the less your AC has to work and the less you have to pay.
While I cannot give you an exact estimate of how much your air conditioner will cost to run based off of the above factors what I can tell you is to look at the ‘Energy Guide’ sheet that come with your air conditioner. When shopping for a window unit most of the time the Energy Guide will either be on the box or as a picture if you are looking at Amazon.com.
Find the best window air conditioner on Amazon.com
For example, let’s take a look at the Frigidaire FFRA0511R1 5,000 BTU unit on Amazon.com. You will notice that one of the pictures has a completely yellow background. This is your Energy Guide. The Energy Guide will give you an estimated yearly cost to run the air conditioner. In this example the yearly estimated expense is forty-one dollars. If the product you are looking for does not have a picture of the estimated costs or it is not on the box then I would recommend checking out the manufacturers website to find the information.
The last thing I’m going to mention before the next section is the Energy Efficient Ratio (EER) rating of your window air conditioner. EER is a measurement of how many BTUs the unit uses for each watt of power consumed. In other words, it is a measurement of how efficient and how much energy your ac unit uses to cool the room. The higher the EER number the more efficient your air conditioner is. The standard EER for most air conditioners is set at 10.0.
The Frigidaire FFRA0511R1 is rated at 11.1 EER. This number is also displayed on the Energy Guide sheet of your new air conditioner. So, again the Frigidaire FFRA0511R1 is a very efficient and cheap unit to run.
Conclusion
While I may not have been able to give you exact number based on your air conditioner this short guide should give you the information to be an informed consumer before you make your purchase. If you are looking to purchase a new air conditioner then I would highly suggest you check out our guide on how to find the exact type of window air conditioner that you need for your home.