Is this possible? does my ac unit need 5 kw or is my math wrong?

Question

by ac unit i mean air conditioning

Answer 1

Can't check your math unless we can see it.

5-10kW is typical for ACs

edit, miscalculation. 0.5 to 1 kW is typical for ACs

Answer 2

5KW is a little over 40 Amps @  120V what it might be is 5KW hour is what somebody guessed it will use in one day,what is its BTU rating ? or physical size? how hot is it?   Now thats what I like actual numbers that does add up 4.7K it is although I think it could go higher specially if your Line Voltage drops below 110Vac cause the Motors back Voltage drops and the Motors draw more current as their RPM follows the 60 cycle,the Utilities meters measure Amp hours to determine usage and you pay for power you don't receive

Answer 3

Your approximation is correct but remember your AC compressor motor will not be operating all the time.  During the time it is off only the AC`s fan motor will be running and it draws a very small amount of current compared to the compressor motor.

Answer 4

most air conditioners (in australia) require 3-phase power, which is about 410V. The standard voltage that each house recieves in australia is 240V i understand it is as low as 140V in america and japan. So when the electricain installed our air-con he had to put in a different power box around the side of our house that steps up the voltage from 240V to 410V.

Answer 5

3 phases power does not provide to resident home, it only uses in industry building. therefore,I assuming your house is a single phase power source. There are two answers:

P = EI = 208 * 23 = 4784 watts

or

P = 230 * 23 = 5290 watts

Your answer is quite close !

If you air conditioner marks down use on 3 phases power, the formular is not the same.

Answer 6

30 amp 2 pole breaker No.10 wire.

Actually 5.5 kw @ 240 volts.

5500 x 10 = 55,000 BTU's(That is if your unit is in fact a 10 SEER unit).

Ok, But you don't have a 208 volt service. More than likely your service is 240 volts(single phase).( Should be if it is residential :/)

Check that first and then recalculate. You'll see what i'm talking about.

Actual power rating will be more like 3.8 KW (RMS)(i.e. true)measured and 5.5kw (PEAK)calculated.

Lets just keep it basic for now though.

Look at the specs on the side of the unit again.

FLA?(were there two current ratings listed here?)

SFA?(This number should be pretty high compared to the one(s) listed above).