How Many Amps Does A Window Air Conditioner Use

One 10 000 btu air conditioner may use 900 watts of electricity while another one uses 1 000 watts.

How many amps does a window air conditioner use.

Most ptac units are plugged in although they can be hard wired if desired. Look at tech specs on the manufacturer s or selling company s website. Below you find a table of how many watts do different air conditioners from 5 000 btu to 18 000 btu use. So how do you find out how many watts does a window ac use.

Each 120v circuit in your house is rated for between 15 and 20 amperes and the 240v circuits are rated for 30a. A 12 000 btu unit has surge wattage of 3950 watts and a running wattage of 3250 watts. A 10 000 btu unit has surge wattage of 1800 watts and a running wattage of 1200 watts. You can divide the btu by eer rating something like 5 000 btu 10 eer 500w.

For a small bedroom a 5 000 btu window unit should only use 450 watts a mid size 8 000 btu ac should use fewer than 715 watts a big 14 000 btu air conditioner should only use 1 250 watts even the least expensive units we researched for our review of the best window air conditioners got a score of 11 and all of our picks were rated 12 or 12 1. Air conditioners of this voltage are considered permanently mounted even if they are window models because a special 230 volt outlet will be installed at the point of use. Use btu and eer rating to calculate how much power does your air conditioner use. Most common voltage ratings for ac units are 115 125 and 220 volts and amperage rating can run from 15 to 20 amps.

The lower two voltage ratings are common in smaller units while units with a rating higher than 15 000 btus will require a 220 volt circuit. Your home air conditioner will be designed to work on either a standard 120 volt circuit or if it s a high powered unit it may take 240v which would require a special circuit in your house. Some units offer interchangeable cords while other need to be ordered with the correct cord preattached. Do you have the best window ac.

For example an 18 000 btu 230 volt air conditioner draws approximately 8 amps of power. Units are available in either 15 20 or 30 amps.