Absolutely. Central Air Conditioning (AC) uses around 3500 watts of electricity per day, an AC window unit uses between 600 and 1500 watts and a ceiling fan uses between 30 and 50 watts, so it's quite a savings! However, there are a few caveats involved in saving the maximum amount of energy and still staying cool.
How Much Electricity Does an Air Conditioner Use? Air conditioner usage varies based on the size of your AC. However, generally speaking, a central air conditioner will consume between 3000 and 3500 watts per hour. While window units use between 900 and 1440 watts per hour, portable units consume between 2900 and 4100.
The harder your air conditioner has to work, the more electricity it will consume. That means the lower you set the temperature when cooling and the higher you set it when heating, the more you're adding to your power bill.
The cost of air conditioning
It takes significantly more energy for an air conditioner to move heat around than it takes a fan to blow air onto your skin. As a result, parking yourself in front of a fan is significantly more energy efficient. Fans use around 1% of the electricity consumed by air conditioners.
In an energy-efficient refrigerator, you can draw 475-550 watts per hour and approximately 45 to 55 kilowatt-hours of electricity usage per month. In a midsize window air conditioner, you'll draw approximately 900 watts per hour and use nearly 130 to 150 kilowatt-hours of electricity each month.
Hair dryers, ovens, and space heaters use very few kilowatt hours and even refrigerators are energy friendly. This is especially true of newer refrigerators, which consume only 30 kilowatt hours per month.
Health: Fans circulate the natural air in your home, while air conditioners generate cold air by extracting the moisture out of the natural air. Unless you live in an area with terrible air-quality, chances are the air from outside is better for your health than the cold air generated by an air conditioner.
Speaking with indianexpress.com, Dr Rajat Agarwal, Additional Director, Critical Care Medicine, Fortis Escorts Heart Institute said, “It is advisable to maintain the AC temperature at 24-25 degrees Celsius as it is considered most optimum for healthy bodily functions.”
A Daikin 6kW air conditioner has a power input rating of 1.69kW (cooling capacity). If we base our assumptions on an energy cost of 25c per kW/hr, this means that our 6kW air conditioner would cost around $1.50 per/hr when working at full load.
On average, an air conditioner costs between $0.06 and $0.88 per hour to use. Let's see how much air-conditioning costs every month (assuming it runs for 8 hours per day). The cheapest option is $14.40 per month and $211.20 per month on the high end.
According to the Department of Energy1, 78° Fahrenheit is the sweet spot for air conditioners to balance energy savings and comfort when people are at home and need cooling.
If your area is currently at the design temp, your AC should run the “average” 12-16 hours per day. If it is five degrees higher, it will run 14 to 20 hours per day. At 10 degrees over, it will run 16 to 22 hours per day. At 15 degrees over, it will most likely run all day.
When you set a lower temperature, the AC compressor works longer, which means more power consumption. On the other hand, if you increase the temperature to, say, 24 degrees, the compressor will work for much less time, leading to less power consumption.
On average, running an air conditioner costs between $0.06 and $0.88 per hour. Let's calculate how much does air conditioning cost per month (running 8h per day): Low end: $14.40/month. High end: $211.20/month.
Central Air Conditioning (AC) uses around 3500 watts of electricity per day, an AC window unit uses between 600 and 1500 watts and a ceiling fan uses between 30 and 50 watts, so it's quite a savings! However, there are a few caveats involved in saving the maximum amount of energy and still staying cool.
Fans are cheaper to run than air conditioners, and can be used in place of air conditioners or along with them to save money. If you have a ceiling fan, run it at the same time as the AC.
Less frequent starts and stops of the fan can reduce the stress from startup, and potentially help extend its lifespan. Leaving the fan on 24/7 ensures cleaner air, as the air is pulled through the filtration or UV light system. This can be better for people with allergies.
The short answer is yes, it is cheaper to leave your air conditioner on all day. But this does not mean that you should leave it on full blast, keeping your home so cold that you need a sweater or jacket to be comfortable.
Related Story. It may seem like a waste of energy to turn your A/C on and off, but doing so actually saves you a fair amount of money, Amann says. "Air-conditioning systems run most efficiently when they're running at full speed," she explains.
Research Proves Setting AC Temperature At 27 Degrees Can Reduce Energy Bill By 30%
Heating and cooling are by far the greatest energy users in the home, making up around 40% of your electric bill. Other big users are washers, dryers, ovens, and stoves.