# 110 vs. 220?



## 269afemur (Jun 1, 2011)

I am looking to put in a wall air conditioner unit this summer. I really need to keep the utility bills to a min. It seems like the better units are 220 volt, but will this be more expensive to run? I was wondering if someone could help me figure out which unit will be better in the long run. Also I am only considering energy star rated units, and only plan to be in this house for a couple of more years.
Thanks


----------



## Blue Jay (Jun 1, 2011)

Your power meter will show the same kilowatts used with 120 or 240V. If you have a circuit that will carry the load where you want to put the AC unit I would go with the 120 model and save the cost of wiring for 240 since you only plan to be here for a short time.


----------



## paul52446m (Jun 1, 2011)

269afemur said:


> I am looking to put in a wall air conditioner unit this summer. I really need to keep the utility bills to a min. It seems like the better units are 220 volt, but will this be more expensive to run? I was wondering if someone could help me figure out which unit will be better in the long run. Also I am only considering energy star rated units, and only plan to be in this house for a couple of more years.
> Thanks



Usually the smaller units are 110 volts a and the larger ones are 220 volts.
 When the units get large enough to use more than 15 amps, then the jump
 to 220volts. If you need a 18,000 BTU unit which is 1.5 ton of cooling, then you would be looking at a 220 unit. The higher the seer rating the cheaper it is to run.   Paul


----------



## JoeD (Jun 1, 2011)

The voltage does not affect the power you use. The rating of the unit determines how much it costs to run. The higher voltage only allows a smaller gauge cable to be installed to run the unit.
Obviously if you need to install a new circuit that is going to add to the initial start up costs.


----------



## 269afemur (Jun 2, 2011)

I guess I should have given a little more information in my first post. 
We bought the home with an old wall unit in the livingroom. It is very expensive to run, my best guess is it is from the eighties, or early nineties. 
It is a 18,000 btu unit that needs 220v, so the wiring is already there. 
I also have 110v available close by. 

The house is only about 750 sq. feet. I have been looking for a unit that will at least do 600-700 sq feet, but have noticed that most of the bigger units require 220v. I can probably find a 12,000 btu unit that uses 110v that could handle the space but I am afraid that it will be running too much to keep up on really hot days since 12,000 btu is rated for a space about 500sq ft.

The 220v would seem like it would be using too much energy even though it is energy star rated. And a 110v unit wouldn't seem big enough to handle the job. I really would hate to buy a unit and then not be able to afford to run it.
Thanks


----------



## 269afemur (Jun 2, 2011)

paul52446m said:


> Usually the smaller units are 110 volts a and the larger ones are 220 volts.
> When the units get large enough to use more than 15 amps, then the jump
> to 220volts. If you need a 18,000 BTU unit which is 1.5 ton of cooling, then you would be looking at a 220 unit. The higher the seer rating the cheaper it is to run.   Paul



Paul, whats a seer rating? The unit I am looking at has an energy star rating of 10.7 which is pretty good compared to most other units I have seen which are usually 9.4. But I haven't seen anything about a seer rating listed.


----------



## paul52446m (Jun 2, 2011)

269afemur said:


> Paul, whats a seer rating? The unit I am looking at has an energy star rating of 10.7 which is pretty good compared to most other units I have seen which are usually 9.4. But I haven't seen anything about a seer rating listed.



That is the seer rating. Most central air now days starts out at 13 seer. I did not know what window and wall units were running. All i see is central unit.
  Paul


----------



## paul52446m (Jun 2, 2011)

269afemur said:


> Paul, whats a seer rating? The unit I am looking at has an energy star rating of 10.7 which is pretty good compared to most other units I have seen which are usually 9.4. But I haven't seen anything about a seer rating listed.



That is the seer rating. Most central air now days starts out at 13 seer. I did not know what window and wall units were running. All i sell is central unit.
  Paul


----------

