The Power Usage of your air conditioner: Measured in Watts or kiloWatts (W and kW for short), with 1 kW of power equating to 1000 Watts. The power usage of an air conditioner represents the rate at which the AC unit consumes electricity.
The Energy Consumption of your air conditioner: Measured in Watt-hours or kiloWatt-hours (Wh and kWh for short), with one kWh equating to 1000 Wh. The energy consumption of an air conditioner represents the actual amount of electricity that the AC unit consumes over a certain period of time.
Click here to learn more about the other electricity measuring units (such as Amps and Volts). Or here to learn more about the difference between Watts and Watt-hours.
Now, the power usage (Wattage) of your 8000 BTU air conditioner is useful when you’re looking for compatible equipment to run it, such as an inverter or a generator.
However, when it comes to determining the actual quantity of electricity consumed, the energy consumption (Watt-hours) of your 8000 BTU air conditioner is what truly matters. This information is helpful not only for selecting equipment like solar panels or batteries but also for understanding the cost of running the 8000 BTU unit.
In this article, I will first discuss the power usage (Watts) of 8000 BTU air conditioners, and then I will provide estimates of their energy consumption, and how much it actually costs to run air conditioners with this particular cooling capacity.
Let’s dive in.
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How many Watts does an 8000 BTU air conditioner use?
In general, an 8000 BTU air conditioner typically has a power rating ranging from 600 to 1200 Watts. The specific power usage (Watts) of an air conditioner of this capacity depends on its efficiency, which is indicated by the Energy Efficiency Ratio (EER) rating.
The EER rating of your 8000 BTU air conditioner serves as a measure of how efficiently it cools the air. A higher EER indicates that the AC unit requires less energy to produce 8000 BTUs (British Thermal Units per hour) within an hour.
As a rule of thumb, the relationship between the power usage (Wattage) of an 8000 BTU air conditioner, and its EER (generally provided in the EnergyGuide label that comes with the unit), can be expressed as follows:
Power Usage (Watts) = (8000 ÷ EER) x 1.25
For example, here’s an EnergyGuide label for an 8000 BTU Window (Room) air conditioner:
With an EER of 12, the power usage of this 8000 BTU window air conditioner is calculated as follows:
Power Usage (Watts) = (8000 ÷ EER) x 1.25
Power Usage (Watts) = 667 x 1.25
Power Usage (Watts) = 833 Watts
In general, window air conditioners in the 8000 BTU range tend to have Energy Efficiency Ratios (EER) ranging from 10 to 13. Based on this range, you can estimate that the power usage of an 8000 BTU window air conditioner would typically fall between 750 and 1000 Watts.
Please note that EER ratings are typically given to window air conditioners. With portable units, instead of an EER rating, a CEER rating, which stands for “Combined Energy Efficiency Ratio”, is used to indicate the efficiency of the unit.
The only difference between EER and CEER ratings is that in addition to the power usage of the unit when it’s cooling, CEER also takes into consideration the power usage of the unit when it’s in standby mode.
The CEER rating of a portable unit can also be used in the same way as EER to determine the power usage of the 8000 BTU air conditioner.
However, it is important to note that portable air conditioners will usually have 2 BTU ratings:
An ASHRAE BTU rating
A SACC (DOE) BTU rating
The ASHRAE BTU rating of a portable air conditioner is always greater than its SACC BTU rating. The latter is the rating used to estimate the efficiency (CEER) of the air conditioner, and therefore, is the rating that should be used to estimate the power usage of the AC unit:
The power usage of this unit can be estimated as such:
Power Usage (Watts) = (SACC (DOE) ÷ CEER) x 1.25
Power Usage (Watts) = (5300 ÷ 6.5) x 1.25
Power Usage (Watts) = 815 x 1.25
Power Usage (Watts) = 1019 Watts
When it comes to portable air conditioners, the Combined Energy Efficiency Ratio (CEER) generally falls within the range of 5 to 7.5. This allows us to estimate the power usage of an 8000 BTU ASHRAE (4000-6000 SACC/DOE) portable air conditioner, which typically ranges between 900 and 1400 Watts.
Note: If you’re trying to determine the power usage of your 8000 BTU AC to find an appropriate inverter or a generator to run it, please refer to one of these pages:
Moving forward, let’s shift our focus to the energy consumption of these 8000 BTU air conditioners, measured in kilowatt-hours (kWh), as well as the associated costs of running units with this capacity.
How much electricity does an 8000 BTU air conditioner use?
As explained above, the quantity of electricity that your 8000 BTU air conditioner uses is referred to as its “Energy Consumption”, and is measured in Watt-hours (Wh), or more commonly kiloWatt-hours (kWh).
Determining the energy consumption of an air conditioner, combined with the cost of electricity in your area, allows you to estimate how much it actually costs to run the air conditioner over a certain timeframe.
For example, if an air conditioner consumes 150 kWh of energy per month, in an area where 1 kWh of energy costs 20 cents, it’ll cost $30 per month to run the AC:
Cost ($) = Energy Consumption (kWh) x Cost per kWh ($)
Cost ($) = 150 kWh x $0.2
Cost ($) = $30
The energy consumption of an 8000 BTU AC unit is also useful when sizing equipment that can run it, such as solar panels and batteries.
How much energy (kWh) does an 8000 BTU air conditioner use?
An 8000 BTU air conditioner typically consumes between 0.5 to 1 kWh of energy per hour of use. The exact energy consumption depends on various factors such as temperature, insulation quality, air conditioner type, and efficiency.
On average, an 8000 BTU window air conditioner will use approximately 0.6 to 0.8 kWh of energy per hour. In comparison, an 8000 BTU portable air conditioner can consume up to 1 kWh of energy per hour.
Considering a typical usage of 8 hours per day, an 8000 BTU window air conditioner is estimated to consume around 4.5 kWh of energy per day, totaling approximately 140 kWh of energy consumption per month. On the other hand, an 8000 BTU portable air conditioner can use up to 8 kWh of energy per day, resulting in an estimated monthly energy consumption of around 240 kWh.
It’s important to note that portable air conditioners tend to be less efficient at heat dissipation, requiring them to work harder and for longer periods compared to window units to achieve the same cooling effect. As a result, their energy consumption is generally higher.
In any case, a better way to determine the energy consumption of your 8K BTU unit as accurately as possible, is to measure it using an electricity monitoring device.
A device such as the “Kill-A-Watt” meter can be plugged between your air conditioner and the electrical outlet and can measure the energy consumption of your unit over a certain timeframe.
How much does it cost to run an 8000 BTU air conditioner?
Based on an average hourly energy consumption of 0.75 kWh and a national average cost per kWh of around 16 cents in the U.S., an 8000 BTU air conditioner will, on average, cost approximately 12 cents per hour to run.
However, it’s important to note that the actual cost of running an 8000 BTU air conditioner can vary and may range between 6 to 40 cents per hour. The specific hourly cost depends on the energy consumption of your air conditioner and the cost per kWh in your local area.
The daily and monthly costs of running the air conditioner will also be influenced by your usage patterns, such as the number of hours you run the AC each day.
To determine the precise cost of running your 8000 BTU air conditioner, it’s recommended to multiply the hourly energy consumption (in kWh) by the cost per kWh in your specific location. This calculation will provide you with a more accurate estimation of the expenses associated with running your air conditioner:
Hourly Cost To Run the AC (Cents) = Hourly Energy Consumption Of the AC (kWh) x Electricity Costs In Your Area (Cents)
For example, if we assume an hourly Energy Consumption of 0.6 kWh per hour and the average cost per kWh in Tennessee, which is around 12 cents/kWh, the hourly cost of running the AC unit is:
Hourly Cost To Run the AC (Cents) = Hourly Energy Consumption Of the AC (kWh) x Electricity Costs In Your Area (Cents)
Hourly Cost To Run the AC (Cents) = 0.6 kWh x 12 Cents
Hourly Cost To Run the AC (Cents) = 7 Cents
Hourly Cost To Run the AC ($) = $0.07
To estimate the daily cost of running this AC unit, we simply multiply the hourly cost by the daily usage duration (in hours). For instance, assuming a daily usage duration of 6 hours a day, the daily cost of running this particular 8000 BTU AC is:
Daily Cost To Run the AC ($) = Hourly Cost ($/hour) x Daily Usage Duration (hours)
Daily Cost To Run the AC ($) = $0.07/hour x 6 hours
Daily Cost To Run the AC ($) = $0.42
We can then multiply by 30 to determine the monthly cost:
Monthly Cost To Run the AC ($) = Daily Cost ($/day) x 30 days
Monthly Cost To Run the AC ($) = $0.42/day x 30 days
To help you get some quick estimates, here’s a calculator that estimates the monthly cost of running an 8000 BTU air conditioner based on its type, daily usage duration, and on your location (State):
How many amps does an 8000 BTU air conditioner use?
Considering the typical voltage range of 110-120 Volts, an 8000 BTU air conditioner will have a rated amperage between 6 and 10 amps.
However, as a general guideline, 8000 BTU window air conditioners are commonly rated around 7 amps, while 8000 BTU portable air conditioners tend to have a rating of approximately 9 amps.
To estimate the amp draw of your specific 8000 BTU air conditioner, you can use the following formula:
Amp Draw (Amps) = Power Usage (Watts) ÷ Voltage (Volts)
For instance, if your window unit consumes around 800 Watts of power and operates on the typical U.S. voltage of 115 Volts, you can calculate the amp draw as follows:
Hi! My name is Younes. I'm an electrical engineer and a renewable energy enthusiast. I created renewablewise.com with a mission of delivering digestible content and information to the people who seek it.
