Air conditioner (central) vs Window fan: which costs more to run? (2026)
Baseline uses U.S. average $0.180/kWh, typical wattage, and typical hours/day from our catalog. At that rate: Air conditioner (central) ~$48.54/mo (270.0 kWh/mo) · Window fan ~$48.54/mo (270.0 kWh/mo).
Use the country selector in the tool below for your tariff and currency (defaults follow your locale, same as our appliance calculators). See methodology for sources.
Estimates below use the rate you pick (defaults match your locale when possible). The summary paragraph above stays at U.S. average for SEO; see methodology for sources.
$0.180/kWh
Roughly the same monthly cost at this rate and typical use.
- Typical watts
- 1500 W
- Hours/day
- 6
- Monthly est.
- $48.54
- kWh/mo
- 270.0
- Typical watts
- 1500 W
- Hours/day
- 6
- Monthly est.
- $48.54
- kWh/mo
- 270.0
Roughly similar monthly cost at these typical values and the selected rate.
Compare by U.S. state
State pages use local utility averages (TYPE7). Open a state for either appliance to fine-tune hours and watts.