How powerful an air conditioner do you need?
Air conditioner worksheet results

(Input summary shown below)

Estimated cooling capacity & range:000,+/-000 BTU/hour
Estimated annual hours of use: 1000 hours/year

Enter your electric rate:

cents per kilowatt-hour.

You can find your electric rate (e.g. 8.4 cents/kWh or $0.084 /kWh) on your utility bill. In some states, the total amount may have to be summed from separate unbundled costs--so there will be charges related to the cost of the energy and charges related to delivering the energy. Often, your bill also includes surcharges for things like rising fuel costs that the utility can pass on to you, the customer. You can add these amounts into your total cost of electricity as well. Alternatively, you can call your electric utility to obtain your current cost for each kilowatt-hour of electricity, or use the 2004 national average rate of 8.6 cents/kWh.

Air conditioners for a conventional 115-volt circuit are generally available between 5,000 and 12,000 BTU/hr. If your results are significantly below 5000 BTU/hr, consider redoing the worksheet with a larger area to be cooled. If your results are significantly above 12,000 BTU/hr, either consider two smaller units that add up to your cooling requirement, or a single unit that must be installed on a dedicated 230-volt circuit.

The worksheet will now calculate an estimate of the total cost to operate an air conditioner of this size in your area. EER stands for Energy Efficiency Ratio. the higher the EER, the more efficient the unit. Under the AHAM certification program, the EER and cooling capacity are certified values.


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Input summary

Walls:
Frame construction:
Total outside length, north/shaded: feet
Total outside length, other directions: feet
Total interior length: feet

Ceiling:
Height: feet
Insulation above ceiling:
Area: square feet

Floor:
On ground or permanent basement

Doors and arches:
Open doors and/or wide arches

Windows:

Orientation
 Shades
 Glass
 Area
 .
Northeast square feet
East square feet
Southeast square feet
South square feet
Southwest square feet
West square feet
Northwest square feet
North - square feet

Total single area: 0 square feet

Total double area: 0 square feet

Total triple area: 0 square feet

Heat from people: people

Appliances: watts

Hours of operation: