Cooling Energy Cost Calculator

How the cooling energy cost calculator works

Useful cooling energy is divided by steady-state COP to get electrical input energy. If EER is selected, it is converted using EER = COP × 3.41214163312794, with the International Table Btu convention. Both the useful cooling and electrical input boundaries must be consistent.

Electrical input kWh multiply the entered energy rate and round to cents before the fixed period charge is added. Fixed charge remains when useful cooling is zero. A positive efficiency denominator is required; the same numeric value has different meaning when switching between COP and EER, so review it after changing the convention.

SEER, SEER2 and IEER are seasonal or test-method ratings and are not converted into an equivalent field COP here. Weather, part-load curves, auxiliaries not in the chosen efficiency boundary, tariffs and cooling-load design are excluded. This arithmetic does not select equipment or establish expected consumption.

Worked example

Useful cooling of 10,000 kWh at COP 4 requires 2,500 input kWh. At 0.20 per kWh plus 10 fixed charge, modeled cost is 510. Increasing the entered COP to 5 reduces electrical input to 2,000 kWh and total cost to 410.

Sources and assumptions

The source material explains the underlying calculation or pricing structure. Entered prices, costs, schedules and scenario choices are your assumptions; this tool does not obtain supplier quotes or predict actual results.

• U.S. DOE: COP and cooling-efficiency rating definitions
• EIA: energy conversion and fuel heat-content conventions