How much energy does the unit use? Does anyone have an estimate on the amount of energy needed to keep the unit running?
385563
At 42 watts, it would consume 368 kWh of electricity per year if you ran it 24-7-365. My utility is fairly cheap by nationwide standards (still $0.08/kWh) so you'd be looking at $29 per year in electricity. On the other hand, if you lived someplace like New York City or Hawaii where power is $0.20/kWh or higher, you'd have a big power expense on your hands.
1330956
My home is 1600 sq ft. I have a 4 Ton a/c, + 4,000 watt condenser running 24/7, plus a 1 horse-1500 watt pump running my pool filter 7 hrs/day running during the summer months, plus two refrigerators, etc. running continuously, and it's enough. I have hot water heat, not electric. My husband said you need to do a load calculation and give more information, i.e, do you have central a/c, is your heat electric? etc., in order to give you an adequate answer. Best regards, Sprity
1832416
I found on the manufactures website it said, 1 kilowatt per 24 hours. That seems like an average and should be the best answer if you're trying to compute operating cost. If you're looking for load on your electrical system that is where I'd have to start guessing, but I couldn't imagine a situation where it was drawing even half a toasters worth of power. Not very scientific but maybe it still helps
711106
Mary, I never figured out the cost of running. Electric rates will vary. I used it winter time only and for 2-3 hours a day. It warmed up the living room, dining room, and kitchen. I didn't notice any change in my electric bill, except that it was lower than when I ran the furnace and heated up the whole place. You can use it with or without the heat, which can be conntrolled with
2041859
in my city the electric cost is 9.5 cents per kelo watt hour. the unit is 1500 watts on high. so to run it on high it would coust me 14.25 cents per hour. on energy saving mode the unit is 950 watts and it would cost me 10 cents per hour.
1479835
Not sure I totally understand the questionYes it is fairly lo energy- my electric bill definitely went down a couple dollars when I got it. It is movable, but not so portable- not usable outdoors, and once it is set up, well it has wheels, but it does need to be vented, so it is rather fixed in position while runningHope this helps
1320339
Sorry, cannot help, I have not reached the end of the run time yet. I use it about 15 min a night only, tho.
1680018
Doing a quick conversion, but realizing the two (watts and BTU's) measure in different time-forms, ONE 8000 BTU AC unit consumes 2344 Watts. TWO of those units (running at the same time,) puts you at 4689 watts, which is well beyond this unit's capability. Research the WATTAGE or AMPS consumed by each AC unit and you'll get a closer comparison, (those figures should be marked on the AC unit somewhere,) but I still think running the two at the same time will not work with this generator. Running this unit at full load, (3500 watts continuous) might get you 8-9 hours, but I've not seen any figures to support this. Most figures are given at 1/2 load. You may need to look at a larger generator unit if the AC's are the primary consumer....
2073697
I have used it on occasion but since I live in So California it doesn't have to work very hard. I also have solar electricity so I generate more than I use each month creating a negative usage with So Cal Edison. So I can't really answer your question. We do like the unit very much.
1174556
in my region the unit costs $1.00 an hour to run on the 5000 watt mode. so its actually quite expensive to run if it were to run for several hours each day, we just run it on weekends when were in the gararge and that's about it but works very well!
141758
I am not sure I understand the question.. The unit will not shut down when running it generates enough heat to melt snow and ice around it and can operate at artic levels. The unit runs exercise mode every week for 12 min this keeps it lubricant flowing and the battery ready when you really need it. I hope that answers your question.
1687746
The unit has a UL label on the bottom that says 1500 watts. I doubt if it actually uses quite that much power. I don't have a clamp on amp meter and decline to build a rig to measure the voltage and current while it is in use. You could measure the amount of water, the temperature change and calculate the power required presuming perfect efficiency. All of that I decline to do as well. Sorry all I got is the 1500 watts.If you are worried about current draw on a given circuit I expect that this thing will draw around 12 to 13 amps. That is a guess not a professional opinion. I retired and put my license on inactive. The unit has a UL label on the bottom that says 1500 watts. I doubt if it actually uses quite that much power. I don't have a clamp on amp meter and decline to build a rig to measure the voltage and current while it is in use. You could measure the amount of water, the temperature change and calculate the power required presuming perfect efficiency. All of that I decline to do as well. Sorry all I got is the 1500 watts.If you are worried about current draw on a given circuit I expect that this thing will draw around 12 to 13 amps. That is a guess not a professional opinion. I... » Read More The unit has a UL label on the bottom that says 1500 watts. I doubt if it actually uses quite that much power. I don't have a clamp on amp meter and decline to build a rig to measure the voltage and current while it is in use. You could measure the amount of water, the temperature change and calculate the power required presuming perfect efficiency. All of that I decline to do as well. Sorry all I got is the 1500 watts.If you are worried about current draw on a given circuit I expect that this thing will draw around 12 to 13 amps. That is a guess not a professional opinion. I retired and put my license on inactive. « Show Less
877325
Bob,Unfortunately I do not have any usage/experience that would help you out. I use this unit as a back-up for a total off-the-grid solar system.The unit functions(ed) well when we tested it through my system and seems to be quality construction but I do not have any long term or constant use to make a solid review.Ron
122256
I had the same question - so I connect one unit into a WattMeter (measures accumulated power (KWph). Turned the unit on with the remote but nothing plugged into it. It has been running now for 6.5 days and the WattMeter shows that ONLY 0.08kw has been used. Remarkable !!! That works out to 0.012Kw per day or projecting out for a month would be 0.3g9Kw. An excellent product with MANY possible applications!
2175080
I'm not surprised. Motors (there is one running refrigerator's compressor) draw a lot of power the second it starts but it only last for a second. A refrigerator also has a small fan that circulates air over the evaporator coils, That fan likely draws 2.9watts. The meter also can record cumulative energy usage in kWh, a properly running refrigerator shouldn't actually consume that many kWh.
1048505
From a $$$ perspective, we run ours about 12 hours a day. Impact on electric bill is about $1 per day. Hope this helps.
1623423
I thing it runs continuously like your refrigerator. Not sure of the power usage. However I did not notice a increase in my bikl