Do you know how much your air conditioning consumes?

If you are wondering what the electricity cost of your air-conditioningIn today's article, we'll explain how to calculate it. It's important to know this information to know whether you should choose a more efficient and economical air conditioning option than the one you currently have. By making just a few small changes, you can significantly reduce consumption and, therefore, your carbon footprint. Therefore, it's important to know how to calculate it and what factors you should consider to reduce consumption and, also, your environmental impact.

What is electrical power and thermal power, and how do they affect air conditioning consumption?

When we talk about the consumption of air-conditioning We're referring to the input electrical power, that is, the electricity required for the system to operate. On the other hand, we must also take into account the thermal power, or its cooling or heating capacity. Both power levels have a significant impact on the air conditioning unit's total consumption.

How is electrical power measured?

This power is indicated on the appliance's data sheet in watts (W). Since bills express consumption in kilowatt hours (kWh), you'll need to divide this electrical power by 1,000. This means that the air conditioner's consumption for one hour ranges from 0.5 kWh to a maximum of 1.5 kWh.

And how do I measure thermal power?

The teams of air-conditioning They are classified by their thermal power, which indicates the amount of cold or heat and can be recognized in two types of units: thermal power in kilowatts (kW) and thermal power BTU/h, which you must convert to kW by multiplying by 0.293 and then dividing by 1,000.

To calculate energy consumption, you can average the sum of the minimum and maximum power ratings by two. This way, you can find out how much your air conditioner consumes on average per hour it's on. For example, if your air conditioner has a power rating between 500 and 1,500 W:

0.5 kWh + 1.5 kWh = 2 kWh / 2 = 1 kWh

To calculate consumption in euros, it will depend on the cost of electricity at any given time, but you can take an average by calculating that the cost of each kWh is X and multiplying by the number of hours you want.

Why consider frigories when calculating your air conditioning consumption?

The team of air-conditioning uses frigories as a unit of measurement to determine the amount of energy in watts required to reduce the temperature of one liter of water by one degree Celsius from a standard temperature. Generally, around 150 frigories per square meter are required to cool a space.

For a 10-square-meter room, 1,750 to 3,000 frigories would be required if there is a lot of sun exposure, and 1,750 to 2,250 frigories if there is little sun exposure. For a 20-square-meter room, 2,250 to 3,500 frigories would be required with a lot of sun exposure, and 2,250 to 3,000 frigories with little sun exposure. This pattern continues up to a maximum of approximately 70 square meters, where 6,000 frigories or more would be required to adequately air-condition the space.

Other factors that influence consumption include the location and orientation of the home, thermal insulation, climate, and the interior temperature you set.