How much does a window air conditioner cost per month in District of Columbia?

About $14.96 a month, assuming 900 W at a 80% duty cycle, 8 hours a day, 120 days a year at 25.98¢/kWh.

How many kilowatt-hours does a window air conditioner use?

Roughly 691 kWh a year under these assumptions, or 0.72 kWh for every hour it runs.

Is that expensive compared with other states?

District of Columbia has the 9th most expensive average residential rate in the country, so this appliance costs more here than the U.S. average of $126 a year.

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Cost to run a window air conditioner in District of Columbia (August 2026 rates)

At 25.98¢ per kilowatt-hour — District of Columbia's average residential price in August 2026 — running a window air conditioner costs $180 a year. That is 43% more than the national average of $126. District of Columbia's residential rate is up 12.1% from August 2025, which moves this appliance from $160 to $180 a year.

Per hour: 18.7¢
Per day of use: $1.50
Per month: $14.96
Per year: $180

Assumption: 900 W at a 80% duty cycle, 8 hours a day, 120 days a year — 691 kWh a year. Typical of a 10,000 BTU window unit. Small 5,000 BTU units draw closer to 500 W; 15,000 BTU units closer to 1,400 W. Use the calculator to swap in the numbers from your own model.

How District of Columbia compares

District of Columbia pays 25.98¢/kWh, the 9th most expensive residential electricity of the 51 U.S. jurisdictions EIA reports. For this appliance that works out to $54.05 more a year than the typical U.S. household pays for the same use. Running the same window air conditioner costs $87.92 a year in Nevada and $326 in Hawaii, so where you live changes this bill by $238 a year.

State	Rate	Per month	Per year
Connecticut	24.51¢	$14.12	$169
New Jersey	24.61¢	$14.18	$170
District of Columbia	25.98¢	$14.96	$180
New Hampshire	27.64¢	$15.92	$191
Rhode Island	28.18¢	$16.23	$195

States ranked by average residential price, cheapest first. See all 51 states for a window air conditioner.

What else costs about the same in District of Columbia

Electric clothes dryer$203 a year in DC Aquarium$154 a year in DC Gaming pc$152 a year in DC

Cutting the number down

Sealing the gaps around the sleeve with foam matters more than the unit's efficiency rating. Warm air leaking back in is load you pay to remove twice.
An inverter model modulates instead of slamming on and off, which shows up as a lower effective duty cycle rather than a lower nameplate watt.
Shading the outdoor half of the unit lowers the temperature it rejects heat into, which lowers the work it has to do.

Questions

How much does a window air conditioner cost per month in District of Columbia?: About $14.96 a month, assuming 900 W at a 80% duty cycle, 8 hours a day, 120 days a year at 25.98¢/kWh.
How many kilowatt-hours does a window air conditioner use?: Roughly 691 kWh a year under these assumptions, or 0.72 kWh for every hour it runs.
Is that expensive compared with other states?: District of Columbia has the 9th most expensive average residential rate in the country, so this appliance costs more here than the U.S. average of $126 a year.