How Many Watts Does an Air Conditioner Use?

It’s always nice to have a cool, comfortable home to relax in, but it’s not that fun to pay the monthly utility bill. Ideally, you’d be able to strike a balance in which you don’t have to pay too much money to cool your home. That’s where watts come into play. A watt is a unit of power, and it tells us how much energy an appliance is using.

GENERAL GUIDELINES

To be honest, it’s very hard to tell exactly how many watts an air conditioner may be using at a particular time. The age and model of the unit, as well as the characteristics of your home, can all affect how much energy it’s using. There are general guidelines, though, that should be helpful to you.

A small window unit may use 500 watts, whereas a larger one may use more than 1,000 watts. A central air conditioner used for the whole house may use approximately 3,500 watts.

If you’re interested in how BTUs are related to watts, here are more general ratios. A 5,000-BTU AC may use about 500 watts, and a 12,000-BTU AC may use anywhere from 1,000 to 1,500 watts.

SEER RATING

New ACs are going to come with SEER ratings. SEER stands for “seasonal energy efficiency ratio,” and it tells us how much energy a unit would use. There is some complicated math involved, but what’s really important is that the higher the SEER rating, the fewer watts it will use.

Once you know how many BTUs you need to heat your space, start to compare SEER ratings. You’ll see that more efficient units are going to be more expensive than their counterparts, so you’ll definitely have some decisions to make.

READY TO HELP

If you need any assistance with your AC installation in the Phoenix area, turn to Xtreme Air, Inc.. We specialize in installations, repairs, and maintenance for heating and cooling units. Contact us with any questions or to set up a consultation.