It can take approximately 30 minutes for an air conditioner to cool a room, if it is the right size, well-maintained, and the room is an average size.
Air conditioners can make your room or your space more comfortable on hot days, but there are also health benefits associated with the cleaner air that air conditioners provide.
It can take up to 30 minutes for your air conditioner to remove the hot air from the room to provide this added cooling comfort, but there are various factors to consider that can influence how long it takes to cool down your room.
Why it is good to have an air conditioner
Installing an air conditioner in your home ensures that you can live and sleep comfortably in hot weather conditions, but even beyond the added comfort, air conditioners can provide better air quality and reduce humidity in your room.
This can lead to health benefits such as fewer asthma attacks, improved concentration and rest, and it can even reduce how many bugs and insects are in your space.
There are also a few different air conditioning options to consider, which means that you can find a unit that suits your needs the best, relatively easily.
How long does it take an air conditioner to cool a room?
How long it takes for your air conditioner to cool your room can vary based on a few factors. These factors include the size, condition, and power of your air conditioner as well as your thermostat settings, and even what the climate is like in your area, outside of your house.
Even though, when you take all of these factors into consideration, it may seem impossible to find an answer to this question, in general, if your air conditioning system has been installed and set up correctly, is the right size for your room, and is functioning correctly, it should only take 10 to 30 minutes to cool down a room to the desired temperature you have set.
However, every house and air conditioning system is unique and some of the main factors that can influence the time it takes for your air conditioner to cool down a room are as follows:
- The size and strength of your air conditioner in proportion to the size of your room
- The size of your room
- The condition that your air conditioner is in
If your air conditioner is not the right cooling capacity for your room, if you have a very large room, or if you have not maintained your air conditioner well enough for the system to cool effectively, then it will take longer for your air conditioner to cool your room.
The size and strength of your air conditioner versus the size of your room
The BTU (British Thermal Unit) measures how much energy an air conditioner uses to remove heat from your home, and this capacity correlates to its performance.
Air conditioners range from very low BTUs, like this Gree Air Conditioner which is only 5000 BTU, to very high BTUs, like this DeLonghi Portable Air Conditioner, which is 14 000 BTU.
However, simply buying an air conditioner with a high BTU does not guarantee that your unit will cool your room quicker. Instead, it is best to find an air conditioner with a BTU that suits the size of your room, so that you can optimise the AC’s energy-usage and the overall functionality of your air conditioner.
The size of your room
To ensure that your air conditioner does not take longer than the average of 10 to 30 minutes to cool your space, you will need to buy a bigger air conditioner for bigger rooms.
In general, you should ensure that your air conditioner has at least 20 BTU for every one square foot of space in your room to reach this cooldown time average. The optimal BTUs for different-sized rooms are as follows:
| Size of the room (in square feet) | Air conditioner BTU required |
| 100-150 | 5 000 |
| 150-250 | 6 000 |
| 250-300 | 7 000 |
| 300-350 | 8 000 |
| 350-400 | 9 000 |
| 400-450 | 10000 |
| 450-500 | 12 000 |
The condition that your air conditioner is in
If your air conditioner has not been maintained or has not been serviced or repaired often enough, this can also make your unit slower to cool down your room. In fact, it may never reach your desired temperature.
This is why it is important to clean your air conditioner regularly and make sure that all of its components are still in a good, working state to ensure that your air conditioner can cool down your room efficiently and last for a long time.