A 5000 BTU window air conditioner will cool a room up to 150 square feet.
That’s the basic answer. There are more details on this page that will allow you to answer the question given your specific situation.
What’s the Room Size for 5000 BTU Window AC?
A 5000 BTU window air conditioner can effectively cool space up to 150 square feet or a little bit more depending on other factors including ceiling height.
Let’s talk about that factor first. Below the Chart, we’ll look at other factors affecting the 5000 BTU window air conditioner room size.
5000 Btu Air Conditioner Room Size By Ceiling Height
Ceiling height | Room size |
6 feet | 200 sq ft |
7 feet | 170 sq ft |
8 feet | 150 sq ft |
9 feet | 135 sq ft |
10 feet | 120 sq ft |
What size room for a 5000 BTU AC with 10 feet ceilings?
About 120 square feet. There’s more cubic space to cool. And even though cool air sinks, so the air around you will be cooler than the air at the ceiling, having a higher ceiling will limit how effectively the AC can cool the space.
Tip:Add a ceiling fan to high ceilings! This will help whether you are cooling or heating the room. In summer, the fan will blow on you to create a breeze. In winter, you can reverse the fan blade rotation to pull cool air up from ground level, and push the warm air accumulating at the ceiling back down to where room occupants are.
What kind of room has 6 feet ceilings? Or 7 feet?
Most rooms have minimum 8 feet ceilings. But upper floors in bungalows and converted attic space can have lower or sloping roofs. If the space is well insulated, then a 5000 BTU AC can cool up to 200 square feet.
5000 BTU AC Room Size by Outdoor & Indoor Temperature
This is another way to look at how much space can a 5000 BTU window air conditioner cool.
The hotter it is outside, and the cooler you want it inside, the less space an AC can cool. That makes sense, right? If it is 80F outside and you just want to cool a bedroom to 77F, then that won’t take a lot of air conditioning.
But if it is 90F outside and you need it to be 72F inside to sleep well, then you are going to need a bigger AC or a smaller bedroom.
This chart visually explains this point. Start with the middle column, the Indoor Temperature you want. The hotter it gets in the right column, Outside Temperature, the fewer smaller the left column Room Size gets.
Three Indoor Temperatures are listed to fit your personal cooling preference, 72F, 75F and 78F.
5000 Btu AC Room Size By Outdoor & Indoor Temperature
Room Size | Indoor Temperature | Outdoor Temperature |
300 sq ft | 72 F | 82 F |
165 sq ft | 72 F | 90 F |
130 sq ft | 72 F | 95 F |
110 sq ft | 72 F | 100 F |
200 sq ft | 75 F | 90 F |
150 sq ft | 75 F | 95 F |
120 sq ft | 75 F | 100 F |
250 sq ft | 78 F | 90 F |
175 sq ft | 78 F | 95 F |
135 sq ft | 78 F | 100 F |
This table is based on an 8 feet ceiling height with average insulation.
What room size for 5000 BTU AC when 90 outside?
If you want the temperature inside 12 degrees cooler, the air conditioner will cool up to 250 square feet. When you want it cooler inside, the room size drops to 200 square feet for 15 degrees cooler and to 165 square feet for 18 degrees cooler.
Of course, home insulation, number of windows and how efficient they are plus whether it is a sunny 90 or a cloudy 90 will impact how much room a 5000 BTU AC can cool.
Is Room Size of a 5000 BTU Window AC the Same for a 5000 ASHRAE BTU Portable AC?
Not exactly. Portable ACs now have two ratings for BTU. The old one is based solely on the maximum number of BTUs of heat the unit can move. That’s just like a window air conditioner, and they are referred to as ASHRAE ratings – developed by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE).
But the DOE said, “that’s no good!” The problem with a portable AC is that when it exhausts warm air from the room, it pulls some warm air back into the room, so it isn’t as effective as a window AC.
So, the US Department of Energy devised a new rating system for portables called the DOE SACC (Seasonally Adjusted Cooling Capacity) ratings, and they are lower than the ASHRAE ratings.
Typically, the SACC ratings are about half or a little more than half the ASHRAE ratings.
Long story short – If you want 5000 BTU of cooling from a portable AC, use the DOE rating to find one that delivers 5000 BTUs of AC power.
Critical FAQs for 5000 BTU AC
There are a few important issues that should be discussed regarding this topic.
What is the minimum width for 5000 btu window ac?
We have researched every brand and model of window air conditioner.
The minimum width for 5000 BTU window air conditioner is 16”.
Very few 5000 BTU window ACs need a wider window than that – up to 18” maybe.
Here are a few examples. Widths are without the side panels, so you might have to remove them by sliding them off or removing a few small screws.
Amazon Basics 5000 BTU Window AC – 15.98” wide
Frigidaire 5000 BTU Window AC – 16” wide
What is the minimum height for 5000 btu window ac?
About 14”. If the window opens 14”, most 5000 BTU window air conditioners will fit in it.
Of the list above, the Frigidaire is the lowest with a height barely over 12”. The Emerson model is just 12.5” tall. Both the Midea and AmazonBasics ACs are 13.19” high.
How many amps does a 5000 btu air conditioner use to run and start?
3.6 to 5.5 amps to run depending on the efficiency of the AC. The units will use nearly twice (11 amps) that amount of power to start – the compressor takes a lot of juice to get going, and window air conditioners do not have capacitors on them like central ACs.
Tip: The more efficient it is, the fewer amps it draws. An 8 EER 5000 BTU unit pulls 5.43 amps. A 12 EER model requires just 3.62 amps.
Check this out: Use the AC Amps Calculator for a precise answer for your unit.
What size breaker for 5000 BTU AC?
A 15 amp breaker or circuit is enough for a 5000 BTU window air conditioner as long as you don’t have too much else on the circuit.
If you have concerns about tripping the breaker by overloading it with multiple things running at once, use a 20 amp breaker.
What kind of plug does a 5000 BTU air conditioner have?
All have 110-120 volt plugs with 115V being the most common.
Can you plug a 5000 BTU air conditioner into a power strip?
We do not recommend it because the power strip might not be rated to handle the amps the AC needs – especially if other electronics are plugged into the strip.
However, if your power strip is newer and in good condition and is rated for 15 amps or more, then yes, you can plug a 5000 BTU window AC into a power strip like this one.
Again, just don’t load up the power strip with other things because if you do, you will likely cause it to trip/shut off.
Is there a 5000 btu air conditioner with heat?
No. That would be great, but no 5000 BTU window AC currently has heat. The minimum size for an air conditioner with heat is 7500 BTU.
This 8000 BTU LG Heat and Cool window AC is a very good choice for a small window AC with heat.