How Many Watts Does an Air Conditioner Use

From coast to coast, the country is experiencing record-breaking heat. About 45% of the population was under a heat alert on Thursday, July 27. This means more than 150 million people are experiencing the heatwave. 

As a result of the unbearable heat, many Americans are now looking for ways to get themselves cool. The sales for air conditioners have increased to 248% at Amazon in the last 30 days. Sales for cooling get patches and pads more than doubled and tripled, respectively. 

And, if you are part of the population who wants to get away from the scorching heat and would like to get an air conditioning unit, it is important to consider a few things. And, in this post, we’ll take you through on things you should know before buying an air conditioner starting with the question ------

How Many Watts Does an Air Conditioner Use?

It depends. 

It depends on your room size, the unit type, the unit size, and the settings. 

According to Energy Sage, on average, an air conditioner can use 500-4,000 watts of electricity, depending on the kind of air conditioning unit used. 

• Portable Air Conditioners use 2,900 watts to 4,100 watts and are commonly used in apartments and duplexes. They are a convenience for those with houses that don’t have ducts but their watt-per-hour usage is higher compared to its other counterpart. 
• Central Air Conditioners are used for those with houses with ducts and use 3,000 watts to 4,000 watts. 
• Window Air Conditioners use 500 watts to 1,400 watts and work best for rooms that are 200 to 800 square feet. 

Provided below are two tables to show how many watts window air conditioners and central air conditioners use, including their length of time used.

For Window-type air conditioning unit

*Assuming 5 mos. of total running time per year 

For Central air conditioning units

*Assuming 5 mos. of total running time per year 

Source:Energy Sage

Factors that affect an air conditioning unit’s actual wattage used

Based on the table above, if the window AC unit is used for five months, then the bill can go up to $320 during that period. This is about $27 per month. And if you’re using a central AC system, the cost during a 5-month use can be around $1,178 which is about $98 per month. 

In practice, you’re likely not going to turn on your AC unit at all times so the price may vary. You’re likely going to use it more during the summer days. Thus, increased wattage usage. But there are other factors too that also may affect the amount of watts used. Below are some of them: 

• Room Size – If you have a larger room, you’re going to need a larger unit to cool it down, thus requiring more watt usage. 
• External Temperature – The air conditioning unit has to work double if the outside temperature is scorching hot. 
• Thermostat Setting – The lower your thermostat setting is, the harder the unit has to work in cooling the room down. 

A Guide to Reducing Your Wattage Usage 

Now that we’re aware of the factors that can attribute to wattage usage, what can you do to bring it further down? While you can’t control the pricing of electricity per kWh, there are things you can take into your own hands. Some of them include: 

• Regularly clean their air filter. Proper maintenance will not only ensure that your AC unit is always working at its best. That is why it’s a must to always clean the air filter so the accumulated dirt won’t restrict the airflow in the room. A dirty air filter meant that the unit works double time thus consuming more wattage. 
• Use the fan setting correctly. If you’re quite comfortable with the room temperature, why not turn off the fan since it only works to circulate the air in the room, and not to cool your room.  
• Remove air leaks. Seal off all holes that air may leak from, making your unit work less thus decreasing wattage usage.  
• Get the right size. To reiterate, size matters when it comes to getting the right unit. If you have a big room but use a pretty small unit then you’re wasting money. The air conditioning unit will have to work twice as hard just to take the temperature down in the room. You end up using more wattage and the unit on for a long period of time just to feel the cooling effects. 
• Keep the room temperature down. Install drapes or shades on windows that are receiving direct sunlight in the morning. Close curtains and blinds during the day if no one is in the room. This way you’re AC unit won’t have to work twice as hard when turned on. 
• Get a smart thermostat. When installed the thermostat goes on to learn how to save energy based on its owner’s activities. It can also adjust its setting depending on outside weather or when people are at home or not, automatically. 

How Many Solar Panels Are You Going to Need to Run an Air Conditioner? 

Let’s say you’re already following those above tips to lower your electric bill, but you wanted to save more. That is why you’ve decided to invest in getting a home power backup like Nature’s Generator. Will it be able to provide the power it needs? 

The answer is yes.

The number of solar panels to have depends on the installed unit. For a window AC, 2 to 3 solar panels would be enough. But if you have a central air conditioner then you’re going to need at least 10 solar panels. 

Take note that these are just estimates it’s best to call your local experts or you may contact us if you have any questions. Not to mention that air conditioners don’t always use that much energy when used. It is their starting watt that consumes the most energy.

 * We want to give credit where credit is due. Professional writer, Cris Ilao, contributed research and content to this blog titled: How Many Watts Does an Air Conditioner Use Thank you, Cris, for your contributions!