Cost to run a portable air conditioner
What a portable air conditioner costs
At 17 cents a kilowatt hour, a portable air conditioner costs 17 cents an hour while it is drawing power. 6 hours a day with 60 percent average draw is 3.60 kWh a day, $18.36 a month and $223.38 a year. Change any of those three numbers in the calculator and the answer moves with them, because there is nothing else in the sum.
The label figure is 1000 watts. That is what the device draws while it is working, not what it draws around the clock.
| Hours of use a day | Energy a day | Cost a month | Cost a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 h | 0.60 kWh | $3.06 | $37.23 |
| 2 h | 1.20 kWh | $6.12 | $74.46 |
| 4 h | 2.40 kWh | $12.24 | $148.92 |
| 6 h | 3.60 kWh | $18.36 | $223.38 |
| 8 h | 4.80 kWh | $24.48 | $297.84 |
What changes the number
- Single-hose units pull room air in to cool the condenser and blow it out of the window, which pulls warm outside air back through every gap. The unit works harder than the label implies.
- Dual-hose units avoid that pressure problem and usually land 15 to 25 percent lower on real consumption for the same cooling, even at similar wattage.
- Portable units are the right answer only where a window unit cannot be fitted. On cost per unit of cooling they are the worst of the three options.
Find your own wattage
On the label at the back, near the exhaust. Cooling capacity in BTU is not the same as electrical draw.
What this does not include
It does not count the heat the compressor itself adds to the room, which a single-hose unit cannot avoid.
Check it against your own numbers
The [running cost calculator](../index.html?device=portable-ac) opens with this device already selected and its wattage filled in. Replace the wattage with your own reading, set the hours you actually use, and the monthly and yearly figures update in place.
Related: [A 1,500 W space heater](../space-heater/index.html), [An electric blanket](../electric-blanket/index.html), [A dehumidifier](../dehumidifier/index.html).