How Many Watts Does an Air Conditioner Use?

Air conditioning use varies depending on what type of air conditioner you have. Most air conditioners use between 100-200 watts (watts) to cool down your home during the summer.

When you think about how much power an air conditioner uses, you might assume that it's really high. After all, if you have a window unit, you probably know that they use around 15 watts per hour. But even with a window unit, you're only looking at the consumption while running - not counting what happens in standby mode and not including the electricity usage of fans, lights, etc. That means you could actually be using closer to 30-40 watts per hour while it's just sitting there. And that's before you factor in your electrical bill!

So what does that mean? Let me show you...

In the United States, we don't require labels on our appliances. If you're buying an AC, you won't find any information regarding its actual wattage or how many watts it consumes in standby mode. This makes it difficult to determine exactly how much power your particular air conditioner will consume. So I did some research for myself, and found out how many watts your AC will use each year. According to my research, this is likely understated.

Here's how I calculated it. I looked at the power rating (W) and the capacity (CFM). Then I took those two numbers, multiplied them together, divided by 3600, and got the amount of hours in a year.

For example, let's say your AC has a 10 CFM capacity and 100 W rating. To calculate how many hours it would run in a year, I simply divide the two numbers together. In this case, I'd do:

10 x 100 1,000

1000 /3600 0.2667 hours

That gives us 26,667 hours a year. Divide that by 365 days to get 6,923 hours a year. Take away that number to account for holidays and weekends, and you end up with 5,820 hours a year. You'll want to take into account the cooling capacity of your AC as well; the lower the capacity, the less hours your AC will run. If you decide to buy a smaller model, you may save yourself money over time, but you'll still pay the same amount of electricity in the long term.

A similar calculation works for refrigerators and freezers. If you have a fridge or freezer that runs on gas, then you should be able to find the exact number of hours that it will last on your own. A refrigerator that runs on propane or natural gas should state the approximate number of gallons consumed, or the number of hours that it takes to fill a tank. Again, this is likely understate the true consumption of these products.

The bottom line here is that if you plan to purchase an appliance, look closely at the specifications and ratings. Understand exactly how many watts it consumes, and ask your salesperson about the total number of hours the product will operate in a year. These numbers will help you make informed decisions about what size and type of appliance you need.

Air conditioning uses around 5 watts per hour while running. Depending on the size of your unit, it could use a bit more than 5 watts per hour. If you live somewhere where it gets very hot (like Phoenix), you may want to consider getting a smaller unit.

Air conditioners use about 1/3 of electricity in the United States. That's compared to refrigerators using about 1/10th of power and washing machines around 1/50th. However, these stats don't tell us how much energy we're actually spending on them. We assume they'll run constantly, but have no idea if our air conditioner is running at full capacity 24 hours a day.

The first thing you should know about air conditioning is that they use electricity. A standard residential AC uses between 13 - 15 watts per hour, and commercial units range anywhere from 10-25 watts per hour depending on its size. While electric bills may seem high, the amount of energy used is actually pretty small compared to what we get off of our power grid. If we look at electrical consumption on a global scale, countries like India have over 20 billion people, yet their total consumption is roughly equal to the United States’ total consumption of electricity in just 2015. This means that even though we’re consuming almost 400 times more electricity than them, we still use only 4% of the world’s supply.

That being said, air conditioners do not need nearly as much energy as you might think. In fact, you could probably save money by turning your unit down a few degrees, especially if you live somewhere with plenty of sunlight, since many ACs use fans to circulate cool air around your home. When you take those things into account, you can reduce how much energy you spend on cooling your home without having to turn down your air conditioning. 

The number of watts is what determines how much electricity your air conditioner uses. A standard home unit consumes about 1,600 W. Most newer units consume about 2,500-2,700 W. If you have an older model, you may notice that it draws less power than other models. Also, if you plan to use an AC unit year round, you’ll want to invest in a good quality unit that does not need a lot of maintenance. Look for any electrical product that says Energy Star on its packaging. It means the product was designed to use 30% less electricity than comparable products.

If you have any questions about how much electricity an air conditioner uses, don't worry -- we've got you covered!

Air conditioning systems use anywhere from 1-10 watts per square foot. That's not a lot - but if you're running an AC unit in a windowless basement, closet, or garage, where no outside breezes occur naturally, then you'll want to make sure you keep your system turned off whenever possible. You should only run them when you need them and turn them off when you aren't using them.

Most air conditioning systems require two circuits. One circuit runs continuously (24/7) while the second runs occasionally (when it gets hot). In some cases, the occasional circuit may be configured to start automatically when the temperature reaches certain levels. Your electric utility company will help you determine what you need for each season based on average temperatures in your area.

 On average, air conditioners use about 100 watts per hour. However, if you have a window unit cooling, it may consume around 2-300W per hour. If you live in a house with central AC, then it could use anywhere between 200 - 1000 watts. Each time the compressor runs, it consumes electricity. When your home is cooled and heated, the A/C system uses at least 1 watt of power per square foot. To determine how many watts an a/c unit uses, multiply its rated capacity (in cubic feet) by the number of hours it operates each day.

2. You can find out how much wattage an air conditioner consumes by looking at the label under Energy Information or Efficiency Rating on the product’s packaging. The rating is measured in “watts” and tells you how much electrical power the air conditioner requires.

Air conditioners use power from electricity to perform their function. If you live in a state that experiences hot summers, then you know how much power your air conditioner uses!

The amount of watts in an AC unit varies depending on the type of compressor being used; however, here's a general guide on how many watts each type of air conditioning system uses per hour.

• Split/Ventilation systems: 6-10 watts

• Multi-zone units: 20-30 watts

• Single zone units: 40-60 watts

• Window units: 50-100 watts

• Central Units: 150-250 watts

• Portable units: 250-500 watts