Does turning off window AC save money?
Yes, turning off window AC saves you money. Your window AC burns electricity while it runs so using it for a shorter time during the day will cut down on costs.
How much cost depends on the specific window AC you’re using. An average window air conditioner will cost $0.12 – $0.32 per hour to run. That means that shutting your window AC off for 6 hours could save you $1.92 a day.
That might not sound like a ton, but it would add up to $57.60 a month.
There’s a common myth that shutting your window AC off means your unit has to expend more money bringing your home back up to temperature than it would just to keep your home cool.
The problem with this logic is that window ACs don’t change their output. They just run until the room hits a target temperature and then shut off until it starts to rise again. So running your AC for 6 hours less every day would mean reducing your air conditioning bill by $1.92 each day.
While shutting your AC off doesn’t affect your unit’s per-hour cooling output, it does affect the temperature in your home. Given the output doesn’t change, you’ll notice a big difference in temperature if you come home after the AC has been running for 1 hour or 6 hours.
The trick is to make sure your AC has enough time to lower your home to a comfortable temperature before you get back. It doesn’t need to stay cold the whole day.
Mark is a journalist who has written about home products for two years. He holds a masters degree with distinction from the London School of Economics and an undergraduate degree from the University of Edinburgh.