In the summer months, to try to refresh the environment at home, we can use different devices. Logically, energy consumption is going to be something to take into account. If your goal is to spend less on your electricity bill, keep in mind the comparison that we are going to do. Let’s talk about the differences in consumption between an air conditioner and a fan. Although they are very different devices, both can be useful for the hottest months.
Knowing how much a device consumes can help us better control its use. It can be used to determine how long to keep it on, whether to lower or raise the temperature, if it is worth buying another device with lower consumption, etc. Therefore, making a comparison can be very useful to see if it is better to use the air conditioning or a fan.
Light cost of an air vs fan
The first thing you should know is that not all devices are the same. That is, not all air conditioners consume the same, nor do fans. However, we are going to talk about the most common consumption. We are going to show how much each one spends in a general way, in the most common cases.
A common air conditioner can consume over 1000 W, which we can translate into 1 kWh. A fan, for its part, will consume much less. In this case we can put about 60 W. Therefore, with this alone we can already see that an air conditioner consumes more than 15 times more than a fan.
If you have an older or more powerful air conditioner, the consumption will be higher. The difference will be greater, since a fan will not vary as much. Even if you have a fan that consumes more, it really is difficult for it to exceed 100 W. You will always spend much more turning on the air.
But how much does this translate into real consumption, into money? Going back to the example of a 1000 W air conditioner, if, for example, you have it on for 8 hours and we set an energy cost of €0.20 per kWh, we would be spending approximately €1.60. As for the fan, if we say that it has a consumption of 60 W and we also turn it on for 8 hours and at the same price of energy, we would spend about €0.10.
Configuration is key
Beyond having given fixed data, in which you can see that the air conditioning consumes about 15 times more than a fan, at least based on common models, it is necessary to mention the importance of the configuration. It is not the same to have an air conditioning at 18 degrees than at 28. Nor is it the same to have the fan set to minimum or give it maximum power.
Mainly you will notice an important difference in the air conditioning. The ideal is to adjust the temperature well. Experts recommend that we should turn it on between 24 and 27 degrees. Each degree more or less will mean a saving or consumption of approximately 7%. There are other factors, such as the external temperature, if you have the doors closed or not, the ignition time, etc.
It is also important to have good maintenance. In the case of the fan, maintenance is really low. You just have to make sure it is clean and little else. On the other hand, in the air conditioner you may need to change parts after a while, clean filters, the outside box, etc. It is a more expensive device, in every way.
In short, if you are wondering what the difference is between an air conditioner and a fan in terms of consumption, as you have seen, the former consumes about 15 times more. Basically, 8 hours of ignition will consume between €1.5 and €2 for air, while a fan will cost around €0.10 or a little more.
