Our apartment complex switched from individual window units to a central HVAC system this spring.

My electric bill for June was $87, which is almost $40 less than the same month last year with the old noisy window AC. The new system is way more even and quiet too, no more fighting with that one unit that never cooled the bedroom. Has anyone else seen a big drop in costs after a similar upgrade?

3 comments

3 Comments

marydavis24d ago

My old condo did that retrofit last year. The bill dropped about thirty bucks a month in the summer. Makes you wonder why they ever installed those window units, right?

grant47824d ago

Thirty bucks is nice, but is it really that big a deal in the grand scheme? I mean, window units were cheap to put in back then, and renters just paid their own power. The noise was bad, sure, but a retrofit costs a ton upfront. Makes you wonder if the savings ever really pay off for the building owner, or if they just bump up the rent to cover it.

brianm6624d ago

How much did they pay for those old window units in the first place? My first apartment had one that sounded like a jet engine taking off, and it barely cooled a closet. I probably spent more on earplugs than I saved on electricity. Retrofit sounds like a no-brainer now, but back then we just put up with the noise and the high bills!