Electric Current through an Air Conditioner
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| Bibliographic Entry | Result (w/surrounding text) |
Standardized Result |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 Ashrae Handbook HVAC Systems and Equipment Atlanta, Georgia: W. Stephen Colmstock, 2000: 46.1. | "The maximum rating of 115 V units is generally 12 A, the maximum current permitted by the NEC for a single-outlet, 15 A circuit." | 12 A |
| Installation of Single-Phase, Three-Wire Service Entrance. Delmare Electric. 24 May 2003. | "The air conditioner draws 8 amperes at 240 volts and will be connected to a separate 15-ampere, 240 volt circuit with No. 14 AWG conductors (15 amperes)." | 8 A |
| The Airstream Archive. Vintage Airstream Club. 25 May 2003. | "According to Airstream records they did not start pre-wiring for air-conditioning until 1962-1964 (depending on model/plant). You can tell if there is a spare 20 amp breaker in the electrical control box. | < 20 A |
| KFR-32GW. Huayu Group. 18 May 2003. | "Air Conditioner KFR-32GW rated cooling electric current 5.6 A rated heating electric current 5.9 A" |
5.6-5.9 A |
| Villa, Bob. Energy-Efficient Air Conditioning. 2001. | "Smaller room air conditioners (those drawing less than 7.5 amps of electricity) can be plugged into any 15- or 20-amp, 115-volt household circuit that is not shared with any other major appliances. Larger room air conditioners (those drawing more than 7.5 amps) need their own dedicated 115-volt circuit. The largest models require a dedicated 230-volt circuit." | < 7.5 A (small) > 7.5 A (large) |
An air conditioner is a machine that controls and lowers the temperature as well as the humidity in a building. It also provides relief to people by filtering and circulating room air. Also, air conditioners can provide a way of ventilating or exhausting air as well as heating it.
Air conditioners have line cords, which are plugged into electric circuits. In the United States, air conditioners use 115 V, 208 V, or 230 V. The highest current in the 115 V air conditioner is 12 amperes.
Usually the expensive air conditioners are energy efficient. Eventually, these air conditioners will save people money because it lowers electrical bills. For example, using an air conditioner made in the 1970s will increase the prices of electrical bills between 20 and 40 percent because it uses more energy than today's air conditioners. Also, people shouldn't buy air conditioners that are too big because it becomes less efficient; it uses more electricity. This becomes a waste because in this case, the area that the bigger air conditioners cool is less than the area that they are designed to cover.
Kevin Roman -- 2003