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How much does it cost to run a portable air conditioner?
At the U.S. average residential price of 18.34¢ per kilowatt-hour (June 2026), running a portable air conditioner costs about $155 a year. Your own bill depends on your state's rate, which ranges from 13.11¢ to 52.72¢ across the country.
- Per hour
- 16.1¢
- Per day of use
- $1.29
- Per month
- $12.91
- Per year
- $155
Assumption: 1,100 W at a 80% duty cycle, 8 hours a day, 120 days a year — 845 kWh a year. Single-hose portables push conditioned air out of the room and pull unconditioned air in through every crack to replace it, so real-world runtime is longer than the spec sheet implies.
Cost by state
Same appliance, same usage, 51 different prices. Sorted cheapest first.
| State | Rate | Per month | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nevada | 13.11¢ | $9.23 | $111 |
| Nebraska | 13.25¢ | $9.33 | $112 |
| Utah | 13.37¢ | $9.41 | $113 |
| Louisiana | 13.49¢ | $9.50 | $114 |
| Tennessee | 14.07¢ | $9.91 | $119 |
| North Dakota | 14.12¢ | $9.94 | $119 |
| Arkansas | 14.12¢ | $9.94 | $119 |
| Kentucky | 14.26¢ | $10.04 | $120 |
| Oklahoma | 14.33¢ | $10.09 | $121 |
| Idaho | 14.37¢ | $10.12 | $121 |
| North Carolina | 14.74¢ | $10.38 | $125 |
| Mississippi | 14.88¢ | $10.48 | $126 |
| Washington | 14.91¢ | $10.50 | $126 |
| New Mexico | 15.06¢ | $10.60 | $127 |
| Florida | 15.10¢ | $10.63 | $128 |
| Montana | 15.14¢ | $10.66 | $128 |
| Arizona | 15.18¢ | $10.69 | $128 |
| Wyoming | 15.24¢ | $10.73 | $129 |
| South Dakota | 15.36¢ | $10.81 | $130 |
| West Virginia | 15.45¢ | $10.88 | $131 |
| South Carolina | 15.55¢ | $10.95 | $131 |
| Kansas | 15.71¢ | $11.06 | $133 |
| Iowa | 15.93¢ | $11.21 | $135 |
| Texas | 15.94¢ | $11.22 | $135 |
| Missouri | 16.22¢ | $11.42 | $137 |
| Oregon | 16.32¢ | $11.49 | $138 |
| Georgia | 16.36¢ | $11.52 | $138 |
| Alabama | 16.40¢ | $11.55 | $139 |
| Colorado | 17.13¢ | $12.06 | $145 |
| Virginia | 17.22¢ | $12.12 | $145 |
| Indiana | 17.51¢ | $12.33 | $148 |
| Minnesota | 17.52¢ | $12.33 | $148 |
| Ohio | 19.19¢ | $13.51 | $162 |
| Delaware | 19.29¢ | $13.58 | $163 |
| Wisconsin | 19.56¢ | $13.77 | $165 |
| Illinois | 19.89¢ | $14.00 | $168 |
| Pennsylvania | 21.73¢ | $15.30 | $184 |
| Maryland | 21.84¢ | $15.38 | $185 |
| Michigan | 22.99¢ | $16.18 | $194 |
| Connecticut | 24.32¢ | $17.12 | $205 |
| District of Columbia | 24.39¢ | $17.17 | $206 |
| Vermont | 24.44¢ | $17.21 | $206 |
| New Jersey | 24.95¢ | $17.56 | $211 |
| New Hampshire | 27.01¢ | $19.02 | $228 |
| Alaska | 28.21¢ | $19.86 | $238 |
| Rhode Island | 29.23¢ | $20.58 | $247 |
| New York | 29.49¢ | $20.76 | $249 |
| Maine | 29.59¢ | $20.83 | $250 |
| Massachusetts | 29.61¢ | $20.85 | $250 |
| California | 34.74¢ | $24.46 | $293 |
| Hawaii | 52.72¢ | $37.11 | $445 |
Cutting the number down
- A dual-hose model draws outdoor air for condenser cooling instead of depressurizing your room. It is the biggest efficiency difference in this category.
- Insulating the exhaust hose keeps rejected heat from radiating straight back into the room you just cooled.
- For the same BTU rating, a window unit almost always costs less to run than a portable.
Questions
- How many watts does a portable air conditioner use?
- About 1,100 W while running, though it cycles on and off, so average draw is 880 W.
- How much does a portable air conditioner cost per month?
- About $12.91 a month at the U.S. average rate, or $155 a year.
- Where is it cheapest to run?
- Nevada, at $111 a year, versus $445 in Hawaii — a spread of $335.