Home air conditioner use gas?

Question

I just move to an apartment, how do i know the a/c use gas or electricity? There are two "tanks" inside the closet, and when i turn the a/c on to cool the apartment, I think one of the tank has noise
I heeard that the a/c use gas to cool the house is very expensive, some people's pg&e bill goes up to 500 dollars. Is that for real?

Answer 1

There is a unit made by Arkla-Servel which was widely installed during the 60's and 70's when gas was really cheap, it's a gas absorption unit, using an amonia and chromate solutions that chills the water and antifreeze solution that is then pumped through indoor coils, indoor fan blows air over the coils and wha-la. Now when this system is operating there are 3 motors running, along with the gas part which is about the same as (guessing) 3 burners on a stove. The motors together use up about the same amount of electricity as todays electric A/C systems do. how to determine what you have is'nt easy to do but commonly in apartment applications there will be a thermostat for cooling and a thermostat for heating, or you might try measuring the temperture at the filter grill then at a supply grill (air coming out) gas systems usually run 10 degrees difference, electric will be 20 degrees. But to be sure call your gas company or leave a note over your gas meter asking your question. stay cool.

Answer 2

If your apartment has a central system of condensing water you may have a machine that is self contained in your closet that uses the buildings recirculated water system.
If that is the case it will make some noise when it is running as there are moving parts and air flow in it.
Most likely you are mistaking another home appliance / device as being related to air conditioning.
Secondly, if you use a high energy electrical appliance it will increase your electricity bill exponentially. The larger the machine capacity and the longer you have it turned on the larger the bill.
Think of it the same way you think of heating your home. If you want heat you are probably prepared to pay for it. And it costs about the same.

Answer 3

Air conditioners use electricity to move the heat out of your home. The tanks in your closet must be something else.

The electric portion of the bill will be high, air conditioning is very expensive to run.

Answer 4

Air conditioners use electricity to run. They use a gas called freon to do the actual cooling. The freon does not need to be replaced unless there is a leak.

The tanks you have are probably your hot water tank and a water softener/conditioner or pressure tank. They have nothing to do with the air conditioning.

Answer 5

There are absorption A/C units that are gas fired. They are rarely found in residential use. Usually found in factories for process cooling.

Most likely your system is electric.

Answer 6

Lennox