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AR15.COM
6/18/2008 1:41:05 PM EDT
I am trying to figure out how much it costs me to run a 5000BTU window A/C unit.

My electric charge is $0.067 per KWH.

To convert BTU's to KWH BTU's/3413 x Efficiency%

That would be 5000/3413x.75 (just totally guessing on the efficiency) = 1.099 x $0.067 = $0.074.

Now assuming it is left on 24 hours a day and ignoring the compressor cycle time that would be $0.074 x 24 = $1.77/day = $53.00/month.

So for a typical 110V outlet on a 15 Amp breaker you could pull 110V x 15A = 1650Watts
1650W / 1000 = 1.65KW x 24hours = 39.6KWH max from that outlet per day at a cost of $2.65/day or $79.60/month  

Math check isle 4!

6/18/2008 1:43:14 PM EDT
[#1]
75% efficiency!?  How about a sanity check?

6/18/2008 1:50:22 PM EDT
[#2]

Quoted:
75% efficiency!?  How about a sanity check?



Care to elaborate?
6/18/2008 1:56:12 PM EDT
[#3]

Quoted:

Quoted:
75% efficiency!?  How about a sanity check?



Care to elaborate?

75% efficiency is a bit high.  I don't know what modern units run, but 50% would be rather impressive IMHO.
6/18/2008 1:57:36 PM EDT
[#4]

Quoted:

Quoted:

Quoted:
75% efficiency!?  How about a sanity check?



Care to elaborate?

75% efficiency is a bit high.  I don't know what modern units run, but 50% would be rather impressive IMHO.


Yeah, in our physics calculations anything above 50% either meant you did something wrong or someone is eligible for the Nobel Prize
6/18/2008 2:01:53 PM EDT
[#5]
Buy a Kill-a-Watt meter and it will tell you.  Use it on your other stuff as well.  Just knowing what costs money to run, can end up saving money if you use what you learn.



They are pretty neat.  Sometimes they surprise you with how LITTLE something costs to run as well.
6/18/2008 2:02:57 PM EDT
[#6]
I am asking because I don't know.

I can't find straight up efficiency numbers.  

What would be realistic?  35%
6/18/2008 2:06:10 PM EDT
[#7]

Quoted:
I am asking because I don't know.

I can't find straight up efficiency numbers.  

What would be realistic?  35%


Even that wouldn't tell you the whole story.  You'd need to know how long it runs and at what load.  You will run the thing at significantly less than full power 24/7.
6/18/2008 2:11:13 PM EDT
[#8]
Nope, not quite.

The A/C units are rated as BTU/hr OUTPUT.

So your input is going to be higher.

So, there are 12,000 BTU per "ton" of A/C. 5000 BTU then = 0.42 ton.

It's roughly 1 HP per ton as a conversion ratio.

Doing the conversions, you get 5000 BTU = 313 Watts. You probably have an additional 20W of overhead for such. Call it a 333Watt unit.

If it runs continuously, you have 333 Watt * 24 hours/day * 30 day/month = ~240kWh.

Assuming your $0.067/kWh, your monthly cost is $16/month ideally. Likely more along the lines of $25/month.

6/18/2008 3:39:57 PM EDT
[#9]
OK so was my MAX output on the outlet correct?
6/18/2008 3:55:56 PM EDT
[#10]
Per NEC, you're only supposed to load a breaker to 80%, so 12 of the 15 amps would be usable.

There are 100% rated breakers, but you'd never see them in a residential application.
6/18/2008 4:07:45 PM EDT
[#11]

Quoted:
Nope, not quite.

The A/C units are rated as BTU/hr OUTPUT.

So your input is going to be higher.

So, there are 12,000 BTU per "ton" of A/C. 5000 BTU then = 0.42 ton.

It's roughly 1 HP per ton as a conversion ratio.

Doing the conversions, you get 5000 BTU = 313 Watts. You probably have an additional 20W of overhead for such. Call it a 333Watt unit.

If it runs continuously, you have 333 Watt * 24 hours/day * 30 day/month = ~240kWh.

Assuming your $0.067/kWh, your monthly cost is $16/month ideally. Likely more along the lines of $25/month.



^^this look closer to what you want.

forget 'efficency'.. you're paying for watts per hour basically.