I live an an 580sq ft apartment, & I know some of the other tenants have 220 volt A/C, & some have 110 volt A/C. Which is better & Why???????????


:confused:

are we talking window units? or mini split systems?

240 is better (believe it or not) because it will use less energy.

Mygirlsdad:

Let's get rid of that myth. If I had a 120 Watt load. At 120 Volt it would draw 1 Amp and at 240 V it would draw 0.5 amps

P = V * I or (240)*(0.5) or 120 * 1

At which voltage does the 120 Watt load use less electricity?

If we neglect 3 phase and concentrate on single phase, the primary reason is that there is less copper at 240 V. Copper is expensive. Thick copper wire doesn't flex as well.

In the limit it may use less electricity because of less eddy current losses, less current, less voltage drops, but these are not the primary reasons.

The primary reason is less copper. It may be less expensive to wire. It may not. There will not be that much difference in operating cost. Reliability, probably yes.
Install costs maybe.

15-20 A 120 V circuits are easy to deal with, but we are not going to have a 120 v whole house stove or water heater.

A 5 HP motor at 120 V isn't likely. A 1 HP at 120 V, probably. A 1 HP at 240 volts probably.

So, it's economics.

With 3 phase motors, its an entirely different playing field.

Wall Mount

240 is better (believe it or not) because it will use less energy.

I've been told you use more electric with 220v, not 110v

you only need 8000 btus so i would go with 110 volt

Great explanation Kiss. Josh, i agree that with a unit this small, the asker would be best off with a 110v unit.