O/T Air Conditioners..

Goose · May 22, 2009

I've long heard that, given the same output, a 220 volt air conditioner will use less electricity than a 110 volt.

Can someone explain this to me?

Thanks

evilboweviel · May 22, 2009

false
both use the same wattage
which is how you pay for electricity
220 will use half the amps of 110
Ron

Kirk Grau · May 22, 2009

Agree with EB below. Less amps, but watts is Volts times Amps and it all just cancels. I regularly try to explain this to various relatives or clients with varying degrees of success.

Kirk

bc · May 22, 2009

Interesting question. I've always heard that the higher the voltage, the more efficient a motor is and in this case an a/c compressor motor. Less juice used at startups and such. Guess I'll wait to see what some of the others say.

guido · May 22, 2009

Volts x amps equal watts. At 120V 5 amp draw will be 600 watts.
If the same unit was operating at 240V it would draw 2.5 amps.
240x2.5=600 watts. In reality when voltage is lower than 120Vthe amp draw will vary as well. :lol:
Guido.

tjdub · May 22, 2009

It may be true, but not because of voltage. Simply that the larger the unit, the chances are the more efficiently it can transfer heat. It just so happens that larger units are going to be higher voltage.

If you want to save money on the AC bill, you would do better to add insulation to your home. That's where most of the efficiency is lost.

big fred · May 22, 2009

You will have less line loss (I^2R loss) in the building wiring (and in the motor windings) due to the lower current in a 220V unit, but once you get to the actual AC unit, there should be little or no difference.

big fred · May 22, 2009

You will have less line loss (I^2R loss) in the building wiring (and in the motor windings) due to the lower current in a 220V unit, but once you get to the actual AC unit, there should be little or no difference.

Goose · May 22, 2009

Actually, this is in my shop. I have two 110 volt window units now that are marginal, at best. One of my wife's brothers works in maintenance at a retirement complex of around 100 units. The units have 220 volt heater/AC units like you find in a motel room, and they recently replaced all of them for new units. Upshot is, I bought 4 of the old ones for $10 each, and plan to install two in my shop.

It looks like I might be doing more daytime work in my shop this summer. If these AC units do the job, I'll remove the 110 volt window units. I hate to increase my electric bill on the shop, but sometimes it's worth it.

Our house is no problem. When we built it ten years ago, we built it with 6" outside walls and extra insullation. The extra insullation only cost a couple hundred while they were building the house anyway, and I'm sure it's paid for itself many times already.

MarkB_MI · May 22, 2009

Big Fred gave the correct answer.

HENRY E NC · May 22, 2009

Actually. the motel units will be about the same as the same sized window units. All regular AC is 240V with many commercial units being 3 PH 440VThis is the least expensive to operate but you need 3PH into the building or it is not worth the cost of installation Henry

buickanddeere · May 22, 2009

Same answer as Fred, Mark and Kirk.

O/T Air Conditioners..

Goose

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evilboweviel

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Kirk Grau

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bc

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guido

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tjdub

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Goose

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