How much does it cost to run a window air conditioner?

[powka]

I'm probably going to buy a small (6,000 BTU maybe) window AC unit. How much do you think this will cost per month for electricity?

 

[dug777]

depends how much you use it, and what temperature you set it to...

 

[pontifex]

i'd say whatever it does cost will be worth not having to sit in sweltering heat all day.

 

[Tiamat]

I have a 5500btu window unit and last year in august, running it on the coolest setting 24/7 ran my electric bill up by 90$ in that month. My typical electric bill is 50$ per month.

 

[Gunslinger08]

Originally posted by: pontifex
i'd say whatever it does cost will be worth not having to sit in sweltering heat all day.

Absolutely. No amount of money is worth my comfort.

 

[Pabster]

Originally posted by: pontifex
i'd say whatever it does cost will be worth not having to sit in sweltering heat all day.

:thumbsup:

 

[swtethan]

It's going to be 95 on wednesday. I will be sitting in comfort.

 

[FeuerFrei]

Originally posted by: Tiamat
I have a 5500btu window unit and last year in august, running it on the coolest setting 24/7 ran my electric bill up by 90$ in that month. My typical electric bill is 50$ per month.

Is that just flipping it on for evenings/nights? Seems high.
Running a/c non-stop in my 540 sq. ft. top floor apartment with drafty windows in Cincinnati, was only an additional $65/month IIRC.
Heat was free BTW and my winter energy bill was around $20/month.

 

[TheGizmo]

around 30 - 50 dollars a month, but i only use mine from ~9pm - 9am

 

[FoBoT]

$3.50

 

[RossMAN]

Originally posted by: swtethan
It's going to be 95 on wednesday. I will be sitting in comfort.

Where did you see/hear that?

http://www.kptv.com/wxmap/9430868/detail.html

 

[MrDudeMan]

find out how much power it draws and how much you pay for electricity. do the math. just as an example, if it uses 500W and you pay $.10 per kilowatt hour, it will cost you 5 cents per hour.

 

[0roo0roo]

i thoguht they came with cost estimates to run on the box these days. part of the whole efficiency thing.

 

[imported_Baloo]

Keep your windows and doors shut 24/7, run it mostly at night, when it's cooler outside and the kilowatt/hour rate is lower and your cost could be less than $25.00 a month, give or take depending on how big the area it's cooling and what temp you set it at.

 

[MrChad]

It's nearly impossible to estimate without knowing the efficiency of the unit, the square footage of the room/apartment you will be cooling, how much you will be using the unit and what your local utility charges.

I have a ~600 sq ft apartment in Manhattan and I run two 5000 btu A/C units in the summer time. My electricity/gas bill runs around $150 in the summer.

 

[Synomenon]

You guys are lucky. With the rest of summer here probably being well over 100+ during the days, we have to have our whole house AC on for at least 12 hours a day. Our electricity bill last month was already ~$340. Nevada Power just keeps raising their rates too.

 

[Rickten]

can a window unit be used just on a table or something. I saw them in home depot turned on just sitting there. They were blowing very cold. All my windows slide sideways so I don't have a way to mount it in the window? I'd like to just buy one and sit it on a table.

 

[Howard]

Originally posted by: Rickten
can a window unit be used just on a table or something. I saw them in home depot turned on just sitting there. They were blowing very cold. All my windows slide sideways so I don't have a way to mount it in the window? I'd like to just buy one and sit it on a table.

Doesn't work that way. AC makes some air cold, some other fluid hot.

i.e. if you let the two streams recombine, you'll end up with the same temperature (realistically speaking, a little higher than if you didn't run it at all).