However i measured the power consumption for those modes as well for reference purposes.
Ceiling fan vs air conditioner power consumption.
You ll see some unlikely appliances paired with each other to show where your money is going and to shine a light on high energy consuming appliances you may not have considered.
Air conditioner power consumption trumps that of most appliances.
There are ceiling fans with high cubic feet per minute cfm available at affordable price points.
We know that the propensity for maximum chill with air conditioners can t be beat and neither can ceiling fans cost to run.
One way to fan out a nasty power bill is to use both air conditioning and ceiling fans in tandem to achieve maximum comfort.
Given their size it s not surprising house fans consume more power than ceiling fans.
While that s a feature on many air conditioners it s not typically used often.
I will assume for arguments sake that no one is honestly considering getting ceiling fans instead of air conditioning as this would be a poor choice unless you lived in the north like bozeman montana where it is cool most of the year.
A good window ac unit runs on 1 2 kilowatts and costs 14 cents an hour to run.
Most ceiling fans average between 5 000 6 000 cfm s.
If you were using fans without any air conditioning then of course fans are cheaper.
A three ton central air unit a common cooling system runs on about 3 kilowatts and costs about 36 cents an hour to run.
Ac why ceiling fans are here.
Take a look at the charts below to compare the electricity consumption of regular household items.
The cost of air conditioning vs.
Energy costs of fans fans in general do not consume a lot of energy.
Yes max in terms of power consumption ceiling fans are more efficient than air conditioners however they don t necessarily have to cost the same or more than an air conditioner.
The power consumption of air conditioners averages 318 watts hourly for a 24 000 btu unit in most american households the power draw of a unit that size ranges from 1 800 to 2 500 watts in most cases.
The average is only 318 watts because air conditioning units automatically cycle their compressors on off as needed.
Exact energy amounts vary based on the size of the fan s motor but most whole house fans use between 120 and 600 watts according to the national renewable energy laboratory but this is still much less energy than a central air conditioner uses.
Fans can t match the raw cooling power of air conditioning units especially in warm climates but the air circulation provided by ceiling fans or a whole house fan can make a house feel substantially cooler for a fraction of the energy cost of a central ac unit.
Fan only means the air conditioner is only powering the fan and isn t actually cooling the air.
Sometimes running both a fan and an air conditioner gives you the benefit of air conditioning at a lower cost.