You’ve no doubt noticed that your energy bill goes through the roof in the summer as soon as you turn on your air conditioning. But before you resign yourself to suffering through the sweltering summer heat with nothing more than a dinky table fan and wading pool in the backyard, you might want to figure out just how much electricity your AC unit is actually drawing. This can help you to find ways to use it appropriately for maximum efficiency, energy savings, and a lower utility bill, all while keeping your home relatively cool throughout the summer months. Here’s what you need to do to calculate energy usage for your AC unit.
First you’ll need to collect a few numbers to plug into your equation, starting with the amount of energy your unit uses per hour. You should be able to find this in the paperwork that accompanies your unit, although it should also be posted somewhere on the unit itself. It will be listed in BTUs, or British thermal units, and this number will tell you the BTUh, or the BTUs the system uses per hour. Next you’ll want to find the SEER (seasonal energy efficiency ratio) rating, which tells you how efficient your air conditioning unit is. And finally, you need to look at your electric bill to find out the rate you pay in kilowatts per hour. Now you’re ready to plug in some numbers.