230 vs 115 V air conditioner?

Question

Would it make any difference in my electricity bill to use a 12K btu's air conditioner if its a 230V or a 115V some people have told me that the 230 V will be cheaper but I'm not sure. thanks

Answer 1

230 would be cheaper for the initial cost of installing the wiring only.

Answer 2

Its BTU's per watt that determines cost of operation (also known as EER rating).While a 240v system will balance the load if only one unit is used(and therefore get a slightly more  efficient xfer of power) most people run 2 110v units(since 1 is usually inadequate) which if properly balanced would make no difference.

Answer 3

Using an air conditioner on 115v pulls an excessive load on one side of your house power. Using 220v balances out the circuit better, and will be capable of running higher capacity units without your lights flickering as bad when the unit comes on. Whether you run it on 115v, or 220v, they both consume the same amount of current per btu.

Answer 4

230 will use roughly half the power vs. 115. Stated another way: 230 will transmit the same amount of electricity, over the same distance, with the same loss, using 1/2 the amount of copper wire.

Answer 5

Does your mains supply both 115 and 230 volts?

You can't use a 230 volt appliance in a 115 volt outlet and vice versa.

I learned something today, that some countries do have more than one domestic mains voltage and that for example, all US houses get 240 volts at the panel.

By the way, if you use a lower than recommended BTU conditioner for the volume of the room, the compressor will have to work longer and probably use more power.

Answer 6

Compare the wattage of the two units. You buy electricity by the Kilowatt. A 230v a/c of the same wattage might use half the amps but it is still the same watts.

Usually they go to 230 volts for larger, higher BTU units because they need more power to run them.

Answer 7

As Thor said, you don't conserve power if the 120V unit uses 16A and the 240V unit uses 8A.  You pay by KWH or for the power (watts) you are using.  120V @ 16A = 1920 Watts.  240V @ 8A = 1920 Watts.

Answer 8

The unit will consume 1/2 of electricity of the 115 volt.

If the unit draws 16 amps at 115 volts, (requiring 20 amp wiring).  At 230 volts it will draw 8 amps, (allowing you to get by with 15 amp wiring).