Window air conditioners, just like all other types of units, use a certain amount of watts to run and provide efficient cooling, depending on their EER ratings.
Air conditioning systems provide much-needed relief from the scorching temperatures that come with the warmer seasons, but these systems are also known for being big power consumers because of their large sizes.
Air conditioners need to be connected to a power source that can provide a certain number of watts to the unit so that it can start up and run with ease.
One of the biggest concerns for people considering investing in an air conditioner is usually how much electricity the unit will consume and what that means for their pockets. Window units run on electricity, so it may be helpful to know how many watts they run on.
Window units and wattage
Window air conditioners usually connect to a power source in order to run and cool a room, and without power, your unit will not function.
Different sized units require varying amounts of watts to be able to work optimally and provide cool air. Fortunately, some of the smallest window air conditioners may not use as many watts as one would think.
How many watts does a window AC use?
If you are considering buying a brand-new window air conditioner, you have probably thought about how much electricity it will consume.
Window air conditioners have the smallest-sized units amongst the types of air conditioners, starting from 5 000 BTUs up to 25 000 BTUs with larger units.
The smaller the BTU of the window air conditioner, the smaller the amount of watts it will use, thus, the bigger the AC’s BTU size, the more watts of electricity the unit will use.
This, however, will also be altered by other factors such as the unit’s energy efficiency ratings (EER). The higher the air conditioner’s EER, the more energy efficient the air conditioner is, which can potentially lower its wattage.
Window air conditioners can use anywhere between 417 watts and 2 500 watts, depending on their BTU and their energy efficiency rating.
It will be advantageous to look into getting a window air conditioner with a good EER rating, as you may benefit from the lower wattage that the unit can use from its efficiency.
In general, window air conditioners’ EER ratings range from about 8 EER to 12 EER. If you are shopping for a window air conditioner, and you know it’s BTU size as well as its EER rating, you can do your own calculations to figure out the average watts the unit will use.
The most accurate way to determine how many watts your specific window AC uses, is to use a watt meter to take measurements of your unit’s power usage.
Watt meters, like this Poniie PN2000 Plug-in Kilowatt Electricity Usage Monitor, are plugged into the power socket and then your air conditioner is plugged into the watt meter.
This meter will then give you a digital read-out of the amount of kilowatts that your air conditioning unit uses per hour.
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How many watts will 5 000 BTU window ACs with different EERs use?
Presuming you have a GE window AC of 5 000 BTUs and you want to determine how many watts of electricity it will use, doing the necessary calculation will give you an idea of how many watts your air conditioner may use, based on its EER rating.
You can divide the unit’s BTU capacity by the EER to get the wattage. If the unit has an EER of 8, the window unit will use about 625 watts to run.
In the case of a 10 EER rating, the window unit will use 500 watts, and a 12 EER unit will only use 417 watts of power.
How many watts will 12 000 BTU window ACs with different EERs use?
When it comes to an LG 12 000 BTU window AC, you can use the same calculation as mentioned above. If the window air conditioner has an EER rating of 8, you can expect the unit to use 1 500 watts of power.
Similarly, the unit has an EER of 10, it will use 1 200 watts of power, and a unit with a 12 EER rating will use only 1 000 watts of energy to operate.
How many watts will 24 000 BTU window ACs with different EERs use?
The biggest window air conditioners you can find are 24 000 BTU units. These units cool particularly larger rooms, but in terms of their wattage, a 24 000 BTU unit with an EER of 8 uses 3 000 watts of power.
The same unit with an EER of 10 will use 2 400 watts of power, and a window AC with an EER of 12 will use 2 000 watts of power to run.