Heating And AC Operating Costs

One of the biggest advantages of modern technology is one we often don’t think about until it breaks down. Your heating and air conditioning work hard to keep your home at a comfortable temperature, allowing you to focus on the tasks of your day and not the overwhelming heat or the numbing cold. However, as life throws its curveballs, sometimes families have to make budget cuts. Wondering the true costs of unparalleled comfort? Comfort Masters Heating & Air Conditioning has the answers! Here is the cost of running your heating and air conditioning system:

Operating Costs

Most of us realize that our HVAC unit doesn’t run all the time. Its primary job is to keep the house at a set temperature, making it comfortable all year long regardless of what the temperature outside is. Depending on the unit you have, your operating costs will be calculated by how much energy it uses to reach your perfect definition of comfort.

How Much Will Operation Cost Me?

As mentioned before, operating costs are reliant on which kind of unit you have. Central air conditioner units often cost more to run than a simple window unit. Let’s just look at the averages for each:

Central Air Conditioning

As just an average, let’s say your central air conditioner uses 3,500 watts to run. Depending on where you live in the state of Texas, your average kWh costs could run anywhere from 7.3 cents per kWh to 11.2 cents per kWh (this is really good as the national average is 12.3 cents per kWh). If you run your air conditioner for an hour every day, you would be spending between 0.36 cents – 0.95 cents daily (this is dependent on the size of the room you are trying to cool). However, most AC units run more than just an hour every day. Realistically, they run about eight hours a day. So, taking the 0.36-0.95 cents an hour we calculated, we can say that a central air conditioner will most likely cost you $2.88-$7.6 a day. This equals out to about $86.40-$228 per month.

Window Units

Window units are a popular choice for budget-minded individuals. Window units are more often used for keeping only particular sections of a home cool, such as a living room or bedroom. Window AC units are, unfortunately, energy zappers though. The most high-powered window unit on the market can make use of 1,440 watts. Using the same costs as before, we can figure that the average cost of running a window unit in Texas (for eight hours a day) would be $25-$43 a month.

Split System Costs

Split system air conditioning units are known for their energy efficiency. In fact, most of them average to be 20-60% more energy-efficient than a traditional central air conditioner. However, most homeowners are hesitant to give them a shot due to their high installation costs (typically anywhere from $1,300-$4,500). However, what you pay in the installation, you make up over time. A split system runs at 9,000 BTU or 900 watts. If you run it for eight hours a day, with the average cost of kWh being between 7.3-11.2 cents, you would come out with $15.61-$25 a month. With savings like that, your split system will essentially pay for itself.

Gas Furnace

As part of your HVAC system, it is also important to calculate heating costs as well. Let’s look at a gas furnace. Typically, a gas furnace will use about 750 watts for the blower to run (gas is a different price which varies during the year, so we are just going to focus on watts). If you run your gas furnace eight hours a day, keeping the same price range of 7.3-11.2 cents per kWh, you would be paying $13.02-$20 a month.

Electric Furnace

It is important to note that, compared to the rest of the United States, Texas is a relatively warm state during the winter. Because of this, most electric furnaces only use about 7,941 watts of energy. If you run an electric furnace for eight hours a day, you would end up paying $138-$217 per month.

You may be asking yourself, why am I paying so much for an electric heater when gas is a lot lower? The gas furnace monthly payment is only factoring in the amount of money it takes to run the blower. To know what a gas furnace will truly run you a month, you need to contact your local gas company to find out how much natural gas will cost you. This changes depending on how much of the resource is available.

Maintenance Costs

It’s not only operation cost that should be considered when thinking about how much your HVAC unit is going to cost. Routine maintenance (twice a year) is necessary to ensure that your unit is functioning properly and to avoid expensive repairs.

When it comes to ensuring that your HVAC unit is strong enough to keep your home cool, there is no better team to trust than the ones at Comfort Masters Heating & Air Conditioning. Our team is full of passionate and knowledgeable technicians who know how important having the perfect temperature in the home is. We are proud to serve the individuals of DFW and are more than happy to answer any questions or provide emergency HVAC assistance. Contact our team today for all of your HVAC maintenance, new installation, or repair needs.