Costs and Benefits of an Air Conditioner

Comfort

• An air conditioner cools your room to a comfortable temperature. In some states temperatures rise to over 100 degrees F in the summer. Even in the north, some days the weather may seem unbearable. When the weather is hot, you may get uncomfortable, which likely impacts your mood.

Electronics

• Some electronics do not perform well or may be at risk for overheating when the temperature rises too much. Computers, especially laptops, have cooling mechanisms to keep them in operation, but you may discover that under stress they turn themselves off due to risks of overheating. A cooler interior helps keep the temperature of the device down and causes less stress to the device.

Health

• Some health conditions are negatively impacted by the heat. From 1979 to 2003, more than 8,015 people died from heat-related deaths. Pregnant women may experience more swelling in extremely hot conditions, higher risk of dehydration and increased blood pressure, which puts additional stress on the fetus. Certain medications for high blood pressure may also increase a rise in body temperature, increasing the risk of heat exhaustion. Overweight people retain more body heat, also increasing chances of heat exhaustion.

Monetary Costs

• Air conditioning accounts for 16 percent of electricity usage and from 60 to 70 percent of electricity used during the summer, according to Austin Energy. Depending on the size of your unit, an air conditioner uses from 500 to 1,440 watts of energy. An air conditioner costs from $10.50 to $21 on average to operate each month, as of May 2011, according to Glendale Water and Power. Costs range from month to month based on how expensive your electricity is per kilowatt-hour.