We all know that air-cond is one of the main home appliances that consumed most electricity power. If you can save the air-cond usage, then you can save some money from electricity bills.

How much is the electricity bill for air-cond if it is ON for one hour?

If you know its calculation, you will find out that air-cond’s consumption per hour is not that “scary” but once you accumulated the usage, it is actually a big amount.

Calculation of air-cond’s usage:

1 HP (horse power) = 746W(Watt) or 0.746KW(Kilo-watt)
1 KWH (Kilo-Watt-hour) = RM0.286
0.746 KWH = RM0.21 = 21 sen per hour

If you ON 8 hours per day (night) = RM0.21 x 8 hours = RM1.71
Usage for one month = RM1.71 x 31 days = RM52.90
This is the monthly usage for 1 HP air-cond.

Summary on air-cond’s consumption in RM:

1.0 HP = RM0.21 per hour = RM52.90 per month (one day 8 hours)
1.5 HP = RM0.32 per hour = RM79 per month (one day 8 hours)
2.0 HP = RM0.42 per hour = RM105 per month (one day 8 hours)
2.5 HP = RM0.53 per hour = RM130 per month (one day 8 hours)

How to save the electricity bill from air-cond's usage? Here are some tips:

1. Don’t install big HP of air-cond if your room is small. Select the air-cond size that most suit to your room’s size. Normally a 10ft x 10ft bedroom with 1 HP air-cond is good enough.

2. There are many “energy saving” models in the market, you should consider to buy one for saving on electricity since you don’t change air-cond frequently, choose the right one for the first time.

3. Before you ON your air-cond, open the windows and door of your room for better ventilation and “release” the hot air in your room. Your room temperature will get cold faster.

4. Make sure your windows and door are fully closed when you are using air-cond. If you leave one of your windows open, you are wasting its energy.

5. Set your temperature to 24°C or higher. 24°C is a comfortable temperature, so you don’t need to set it to 18°C. If you set to 18°C, it means you are “forcing” the compressor to keep running to reach this temperature; in fact your room temperature will never reached 18°C in Malaysia. When you set to 24°C, the compressor will cut off whenever the room temperature reached that level and run again when your room's temperature is getting warmer. When the compressor is not running, you save the electricity.

6. Use timer (sleep mode) to auto off your air-cond. ON the air-cond to cool down your room’s temperature when you go to bed. You can ON for one or two hours, then auto off it and use the fans. Mid night is cooler, you don’t need to ON the air-cond and cover with the blanket. If you feel hot, don’t use blanket. When you use blanket, it means you are feeling cold, so why ON the air-cond if it's not hot?

7. Clean your air-cond filter frequently. Take out the air filter to wash and remove the dust.

8. Service your air-cond if it is blowing warm air. You need an air-cond for cold air, not a blower to blow out warm air. If your air-cond is not functioning well, it is not cost effective. You still pay the electricity bill but you don’t get what you are paying.

9. Last & also the best one – Don’t use air-cond at all.