Window Air Conditioner

[ceagle]

True Readings by Meter:

10 amps
1050 watts
7 volt drop
2 kw/h /h
That's about 30cents to 50cents per hour to be cool, depending upon which tier we will eventually fall into at the end of the month.

wow 8|


(I can't recall if it's a 10k or 8k BTU, ..the manual is for both and the unit has no identifying marks.)
(We had a 5.5k one before, and it was useless)

Comments

[rum-pirate-sc.livejournal.com]

open window + fan + wet shirt = cool!

AC's are crazy energy drains >.<


OH! Cbies! Guess what I saw soar over my condo? A huge bald eagle... he(she? .. biiird)was georgious.

[c-eagle.livejournal.com]

hehe... That can work for a while, yup! If I'm not doing anything I mind dripping over... ^v^
That's neat about the sighting!!

*waggle*

[c-eagle.livejournal.com]

ooo... dragon!
It's SCE here...
...and, after all these years of me mum talkin' about it, we're gonna dive in and go solar next month (if all goes well) ^v^

[lobowolf.livejournal.com]

Ouch...I hope for that kind of power consumption, it's a 10,000 BTU model. I have a 5000 BTU window unit in the bedroom, but it's a large room and it can't keep up when it's truly blistering hot. I've had it running nearly every night this month..can't wait to get my electric bill :(

7 volts of drop sounds like a lot. Is it a very long circuit?

[orv.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'd hope so too...Those numbers are pretty close to the figures for the 12,000 BTU portable A/C unit I have at work.

[c-eagle.livejournal.com]

Allo!
I was down at the hardware store tonight and luckily they had the same model this year! It said it's (most likely) the 10k BTU one (max 450 sq ft room), since it said it draws about 9.8 amps, which this one eventually dropped back to after about two hours.
I do have a smaller unit in my bedroom too, a 5.5 btu I think, and it's GREAT.. perfect for the smaller room, it cools it down in about a half hour.

This previous one I mentioned makes an impact on the big room, but just to keep it from getting oppressively HOTHOTHOT. After a few hours it got it down from 88 to about 82, and with it 102 outside, it is appreciated :D

Speaking of long circuits, I'm gonna try running a heavy duty extension for this one to a different circuit, because the big room circuit can't handle anything else essentially at the same time... keeps blowing the breaker if the tv is turned on ;P

[c-eagle.livejournal.com]

Indeed, birdy sir!
I'm pretty sure it's the 10k.

Oh!.. and I examined the joint for my car thermostat, and I can't spot any visible issues.. thanks for the heads up!

[telbert.livejournal.com]

That's a pretty decent amount of money, but when you need to cool off, sometimes you just need to do it. It's easy to put on a sweater in the winter to conserve heat. Shedding excess heat isn't so easy.

[c-eagle.livejournal.com]

eeeep.. yes, but heh, just a few weeks a year hopefully *wagwag*

I got the heavy duty extension cord intending to isolate the unit on it, but logistically so far it seems easier (due to the layout) to instead just put everything *else* on the cord, so the a/c will still be essentially isolated. The rest of the room needs a bit over 2 amps, but that's enough to push the breaker too far apparently. :P

I have a standard multimeter, but it's hard to measure alternating current on it with the cords I have. so I've got the Kill A Watt (http://www.amazon.com/P3-International-P4460-Electricity-Monitor/dp/B000RGF29Q/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1279455455&sr=8-2) to check things and it works great!

[jedd-marten.livejournal.com]

It's prolly pulling 12-13 amps for a few seconds whenever the compressor cycles on which is your breaker tripper.
Actual consumption should be close to 1.2 kWh per hour based on your numbers.

[lobowolf.livejournal.com]

Yes, that sounds right, and probably significantly less when the compressor isn't running, so the actual usage would be based on the duty cycle of the compressor. My 5000 BTU unit is undersized and the compressor runs constantly, so that's 5A continuously. Buying an undersized unit and having it run continuously can be less efficient than buying a bigger unit that cycles on and off. My bedroom really needs at least an 8000 BTU unit to cool off completely.

Crittah!

[c-eagle.livejournal.com]

Not only are ya bouncy, fluffy and fun... ya got a shmardt hayd on yer shoulders, too.... ;>
*wingfuzzles ya, gratefully*...
Dat's purty much on track, me friend!... The first readings I got I was rounding up a bit since I didn't have cumulative data (and wasn't shore wot to eggspect)... After running 6 hours the meter showed almost 7.5 kw/h, so you are right on track!! ^v^
Thanks for that extra breaker info too... :}

[cabcat.livejournal.com]

Not an inverter model then.

[c-eagle.livejournal.com]

noooop... They say they install one of those to change the DC to AC ... We're on AC 120 v here, but it comes into the house as 240, and is used on some units (like the water heater) directly as 240 v