- To calculate the total energy consumed by a cooling system, first figure the power usage of the system in kilowatts. Divide the energy used by the system (in BTUs) by the SEER Rating. For example, for a 12-SEER cooling system using 10,000 BTUs: 10,000÷12=833.33 watts (.833 kW).
- To calculate the cost of the energy consumed, multiply the cost of energy in your area by the amount of power the system uses. For example, assuming the cost of energy is 15 cents per kilowatt-hour:
15 centers per kWh x .833 kW = .125 cents per hour - The higher the SEER rating, the more energy efficient the cooling system will be. But you can calculate the actual dollar savings between two systems. Using the calculations from above, simply multiply the cost per hour by the amount of hours your system will be running during the cooling season. If it runs 10 hours per day for four months (or 120 days), that is a total of 1,200 hours. The cost for running a 12-SEER cooling system for an entire season would be: 1,200 hours x .125¢/hour = $150. You can complete these calculations for different SEER ratings and calculate your energy costs and savings.
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