How much should I pay for a window air conditioner?

Looking at how much you can anticipate paying per hour of running a window air conditioner and for eight hours a day at full capacity.

Having an air conditioning system in your home means you have the luxury of enjoying a cooling experience for when the weather is unbearable too. Window air conditioners are one type of AC unit and are popular, affordable choices of cooling systems.

If you are also considering getting a window unit for your home, then you need to know how much it can potentially cost you and what factors determine these costs of running your new window air conditioner.

Paying for a window air conditioner

Like all other types of air conditioners, window units cool the air in the room by removing some of the warm air humidity and dispersing it outside so that cooler air can be produced in the space.

Running your window air conditioner costs money as you have to pay for the electricity it consumes, depending on how long you have it on. A few factors contribute to and determine the running costs of your window air conditioner for certain periods of time.

How much should I pay for a window air conditioner?

Window air conditioners are among the most affordable air conditioning units on the market. They also come in various BTU (British Thermal Unit) sizes and, as the name suggests, are installed in a window.

To understand what to expect, one needs to know how much they can anticipate paying for running their window air conditioner, as some people need their cooling system to fit into their budget.

The costs of running your window air conditioner will, on average, be around $0.07 and $0.20 per hour.

The total cost, however, depends on the BTU size of your window air conditioner, the wattage, the number of hours you use it in a day, the kilowatts (1 kWH=1 000 watts), as well as the energy efficiency ratio of the unit.

Looking for a unit with a good energy efficiency can help lower the running costs of your window air conditioner, as these units do not consume exorbitant amounts of electricity.

The average cost of electricity in the United States of America is about $0.13 per kWH, and if you live in California, 1kWH costs $0.20.

Different areas have different costs per kWH. If, in this case, you have a 10 000 BTU unit powered by 1000 watts in California, your unit will cost $0.20 to run per hour. Using your unit for around eight hours would then cost you $1.60.

Factors that determine  running costs
Wattage
Size of window AC
Running hours
Kilowatts per hour
Energy efficiency

Properly calculating the cost per hour

As with the example above, you need to know the wattage that your air conditioner uses to power up as well as how much it costs for a kilowatt-hour of electricity where you are from. This is how you can determine the exact cost of running your specific window air conditioner.

You need to take the wattage of your unit and multiply it by the cost of electricity per kilowatt in your city, then divide it by 1 000 to get the running cost of your window AC.

Cost per hour = Wattage x 1 kWH cost ÷ 1000

Maximum costs vs practical costs

When it comes to the costs of running your window air conditioner, you need to bear in mind that the calculations above are based on the maximum rates and on the presumption that the air conditioner is running at 100 percent capacity.

In practice, you could probably pay less than what your calculations may suggest, since your air conditioner will not always run at 100 percent power with most units only using up to 80 percent and less.

Whatever calculations you get merely serve as a guide for how much you may potentially pay.

How much does a window unit cost to purchase, on average?

If you are on the market for a window air conditioner and are wondering how much it costs for a unit alone, you can expect to pay an average of between $150 and $800, depending on the brand and other factors.

Certain brands are pricier than others, due to the units’ features, size, energy efficiency, and whether the unit is very technically advanced.

Amazon has a number of different brands of window air conditioners that you can consider for cooling.

Window ac brand Description Amazon price
Tosot

Buy it on Amazon 
·   10 000 BTU window unit cooling rooms of up to 450 square feet

·   Modern design, sleek, and minimalistic

·   Aircon, fan, and dehumidifier modes

·   Energy-star rated

·   Smart temperature control from remote control

$329.99
Frigidaire

Buy it on Amazon
·   For installing in slider casement windows

·   8 000 BTU

·   Multi-speed fan for cooling flexibility

·   Programmable 24-hour On/Off timer for scheduling cooling

$475.00
Midea

Buy it on Amazon
·   10 000 BTU capable of cooling 450 square feet

·   Energy-efficient, Energy-star rated

·   3-in-1 cooling, fanning, and dehumidifying modes

·   Easy to install with all mounting accessories included

$299.53

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