Life Cycle Cost Estimate for

2 ENERGY STAR Qualified Room Air Conditioner(s)

This energy savings calculator was developed by the U.S. EPA and U.S. DOE and is provided for estimating purposes only. Actual
energy savings may vary based on use and other factors.

Enter your own values in the gray4boxes or use our default values.
Number of units 2
Electricity Rate ($/kWh) $0.113
Choose your city from the menu at right DC-Washington

ENERGY STAR Conventional

Qualified Unit Unit

Initial Cost per Unit (estimated retail price) $220 $170

Energy Efficiency Ratio (EER) 3.3 3.1
Cooling Capacity of Air Conditioner (Btu/hr) 10,000 10,000

Annual and Life Cycle Costs and Savings for 2 Room Air Conditioner(s)
2 ENERGY STAR 2 Conventional Savings with
Qualified Unit(s) Unit(s) ENERGY STAR
Annual Operating Costs*
Energy cost $911 $961 $50
Energy consumption (kWh) 8,073 8,516 443
Maintenance cost $0 $0 $0
Total $911 $961 $50

Life Cycle Costs*

Operating costs (energy and maintenance) $6,771 $7,143 $371
Energy costs $6,771 $7,143 $371
Energy consumption (kWh) 72,661 76,645 3,985
Maintenance costs $0 $0 $0
Purchase price for 2 unit(s) $440 $340 -$100
Total $7,211 $7,483 $271

Simple payback of initial additional cost (years)† 2.0

* Annual costs exclude the initial purchase price. All costs, except initial cost, are discounted over the products' lifetime using a real discount
rate of 4%. See "Assumptions" to change factors including the discount rate.
†
A simple payback period of zero years means that the payback is immediate.

Summary of Benefits for 2 Room Air Conditioner(s)

Initial cost difference $100
Life cycle savings $371
Net life cycle savings (life cycle savings - additional cost) $271
Simple payback of additional cost (years) 2.0
Life cycle energy saved (kWh) 3,985
Life cycle air pollution reduction (lbs of CO2) 6,136
Air pollution reduction equivalence (number of cars removed from the road for a year) 1
Savings as a percent of retail price 62%
 Assumptions for Room Air Conditioners

Category Value
Power
ENERGY STAR Qualified Unit
Initial Cost Per Unit $220
Energy Efficiency Ratio (EER) 10.8
Cooling Capacity of Air Conditioner (Btu/hr) 10,000 Btu/hr
Lifetime 9 years

Conventional Unit (Manufactured After 1994)

Initial Cost Per Unit $170
Energy Efficiency Ratio (EER) 9.8
Cooling Capacity of Air Conditioner (Btu/hr) 10,000 Btu/hr
Lifetime 9 years

Maintenance
Labor cost (per hour) $20
Labor time (hours) 0

Usage
Full-Load Cooling Hours
Full-Load Cooling Hours for Selected Location 1,320

AK-Anchorage 0

AK-Barrow 0

AK-Fairbanks 129

AK-Juneau 0

AK-Nome 0

AL-Birmingham 1,557
AL-Huntsville 1,464

AL-Mobile 2,265

AL-Montgomery 1,819

AR-Fort Smith 1,432

AR-Little Rock 1,583

AZ-Flagstaff 179
AZ-Phoenix 2,141
AZ-Tucson 1,842
AZ-Winslow 950
AZ-Yuma 2,315
CA-Beverly Hills 1,166
CA-Los Angeles 1,530
CA-Palm Springs 2,092
CA-Sacramento 871
CA-San Diego 1,347
CA-San Francisco 224
CA-Stockton 1,158
CO-Alamosa 97
CO-Colorado Springs 523
CO-Denver 628
CO-Grand Junction 997
CO-Pueblo 834
CT-Bridgeport 942
CT-Hartford 695
DC-Washington 1,320
DE-Wilmington 1,015
FL-Daytona Beach 2,763
FL-Fort Myers 3,288
FL-Gainesville 2,228
FL-Jacksonville 2,086
FL-Key West 4,566
FL-Miami 3,931
FL-Orlando 2,915
FL-Pensacola 2,297
FL-Tallahassee 2,215
FL-Tampa 3,068
FL-W. Palm Beach 3,479
GA-Athens 1,493
GA-Atlanta 1,484
GA-Augusta 1,548
GA-Columbus 1,845
GA-Macon 1,900
 Assumptions for Room Air Conditioners

Category Value
GA-Savannah 1,963
HI-Hilo 4,179
HI-Honolulu 5,016
IA-Des Moines 941
IA-Dubuque 605
IA-Sioux City 836
IA-Waterloo 667
ID-Boise 614
ID-Lewiston 636
ID-Pocatello 411
IL-Chicago 683
IL-Moline 830
IL-Peoria 948
IL-Rockford 714
IL-Springfield 1,036
IN-Evansville 1,181
IN-Fort Wayne 786
IN-Indianapolis 948
IN-South Bend 710
KS-Dodge City 1,109
KS-Goodland 723
KS-Topeka 1,068
KS-Wichita 1,225
KY-Lexington 1,080
KY-Louisville 1,150
KY-Paducah 1,193
LA-Baton Rouge 2,233
LA-Lake Charles 2,299
LA-New Orleans 2,388
LA-Shreveport 1,892
MA-Boston 729
MA-Worcester 453
MD-Baltimore 1,050
ME-Caribou 220
ME-Portland 321
MI-Alpena 216
MI-Detroit 642
MI-Flint 497
MI-Grand Rapids 595
MI-Lansing 578
MI-Marquette 222
MI-Muskegon 570
MI-Sault St Marie 196
MN-Duluth 212
MN-International Falls 288
MN-Minneapolis 662
MN-Rochester 523
MN-St. Cloud 414
MO-Columbia 1,050
MO-Kansas City 1,032
MO-Springfield 1,178
MO-St. Louis 1,215
MS-Jackson 1,832
MS-Meridian 1,726
MS-Tupelo 1,623
MT-Billings 510
MT-Glasgow 465
MT-Great Falls 408
MT-Havre 403
MT-Helena 307
MT-Kalispell 193
MT-Miles city 621
MT-Missoula 225
NC-Asheville 919
NC-Charlotte 1,325
NC-Greensboro 1,203
NC-Raleigh 1,239
NC-Wilmington 1,758
ND-Bismarck 437
ND-Fargo 476
ND-Williston 459
NE-Grand Island 851
NE-Lincoln 899
NE-Norfolk 801
NE-North Platte 640
NE-Omaha 890
NE-Scottsbluff 647
NH-Concord 385
NJ-Atlantic City 832
 Assumptions for Room Air Conditioners

Category Value
NJ-Newark 1,007
NM-Albuquerque 1,038
NM-Roswell 1,355
NV-Elko 361
NV-Ely 209
NV-Las Vegas 1,773
NV-Reno 317
NV-Winnemucca 418
NY-Albany 515
NY-Binghamton 440
NY-Buffalo 571
NY-New York 1,089
NY-Rochester 554
NY-Syracuse 552
OH-Akron 714
OH-Cincinnati 996
OH-Cleveland 639
OH-Columbus 828
OH-Dayton 947
OH-Mansfield 711
OH-Toledo 649
OH-Youngstown 554
OK-Oklahoma City 1,436
OK-Tulsa 1,486
OR-Astoria 56
OR-Eugene 261
OR-Medford 534
OR-Pendleton 622
OR-Portland 379
OR-Salem 248
PA-Allentown 784
PA-Erie 482
PA-Harrisburg 929
PA-Philadelphia 1,032
PA-Pittsburgh 737
PA-Scranton 621
PA-Williamsport 659
RI-Providence 656
SC-Charleston 2,127
SC-Columbia 1,626
SC-Greenville 1,386
SD-Aberdeen 544
SD-Huron 633
SD-Rapid City 593
SD-Sioux Falls 691
TN-Bristol 1,066
TN-Chattanooga 1,353
TN-Knoxville 1,288
TN-Memphis 1,654
TN-Nashville 1,375
TX-Abilene 1,741
TX-Amarillo 1,142
TX-Austin 2,412
TX-Brownsville 3,233
TX-Corpus Christi 2,958
TX-Dallas 1,926
TX-Del Rio 2,380
TX-El Paso 1,524
TX-Galveston 2,967
TX-Houston 2,209
TX-Lubbock 1,298
TX-Midland 1,546
TX-Port Arthur 2,452
TX-San Angelo 2,225
TX-San Antonio 2,237
TX-Victoria 2,465
TX-Waco 2,041
TX-Wichita Falls 1,671
UT-Salt Lake City 785
VA-Lynchburg 1,031
VA-Norfolk 1,346
VA-Richmond 1,188
VA-Roanoke 1,002
VT-Burlington 455
WA-Olympia 125
WA-Seattle 282
WA-Spokane 395
WA-Walla Walla 714
WA-Yakima 415
 Assumptions for Room Air Conditioners

Category Value
WI-Green Bay 457
WI-La Crosse 713
WI-Madison 487
WI-Milwaukee 513
WV-Beckley 699
WV-Charleston 967
WV-Elkins 477
WV-Huntington 1,035
WY-Casper 439
WY-Cheyenne 353
WY-Lander 455
WY-Sheridan 387

Discount Rate
Commercial and Residential Discount Rate (real) 4%
 Assumptions for Room Air Conditioners

Category Value
Energy Prices
Commercial Electricity Price $0.0962 $/kWh
Residential Electricity Price $0.1128 $/kWh

Carbon Dioxide Emissions Factors

Electricity Carbon Emission Factor 1.54 lbs CO2/kWh

CO2 Equivalents
Annual CO2 emissions per average passenger car 11,244 lbs CO2/yr

If you have questions, comments or suggestions, please write to calculators@energystar.gov

Calculator last updated April 2009, utility and emission rates updated 2013
Assumptions for Room Air Conditioners

Data Source

Average retail price of a qualified model in 2008 from national retail data
ENERGY STAR Criteria
Typical room air conditioner size, April 2009
Appliance Magazine, September 2008

Average retail price of a non-qualified model in 2008 from national retail pricing
DOE Federal Test Procedure 10 CFR 430, Appendix F
Typical room air conditioner size, April 2009
Appliance Magazine, September 2008

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Assumptions for Room Air Conditioners

Data Source
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Assumptions for Room Air Conditioners

Data Source
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Assumptions for Room Air Conditioners

Data Source
EPA 2002
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A real discount rate of 4 percent is assumed, which is roughly equivalent to the nominal discount
rate of 7 percent (4 percent real discount rate + 3 percent inflation rate).
Assumptions for Room Air Conditioners

Data Source

National average: US Department of Energy, Annual Energy Outlook 2013 (Early Release edition), (converted from 2011 to 2012 dollars)

EPA 2013

EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator, 2013