Model
Friedrich KCVL28B30A
Rank #401 means 400 of the 404 room air conditioner models we track cost less to run each year; the 1st efficiency percentile means it uses less energy for its size than 1% of those models.
What does the Friedrich KCVL28B30A cost to run per year?
The Friedrich KCVL28B30A costs about $305 a year to run, near the very top of the cost table for its class at rank #401 of 404. It uses 47% less energy than the U.S. federal standard model in its class, which would cost about $575/yr to run, a saving of roughly $270 a year. Efficiency-wise, once size is accounted for, almost the entire class outperforms it, at just the 1th percentile. At a CEER of 13.2, its combined energy efficiency ratio is the single figure that best explains how it earns its running-cost number.
Immediately around it on the leaderboard, the K�Hl KCVL28B30B at $292/yr runs a little cheaper and the Friedrich KHVL28B35A at $312/yr runs a little more, a sense of how tightly models are packed at this point in the ranking. A room air conditioner typically stays in service for somewhere around 10 years; over that span, the Friedrich KCVL28B30A's $305/yr adds up to roughly $3050 in electricity alone, before purchase price or repairs. At rank #401 of 404, it sits at the very top of the cost range for its class, among the single priciest models we track to run.
By the numbers
The Friedrich KCVL28B30A normalized against its whole class, so each figure means something.
What it costs you over time
Running cost is an every-year number, so it compounds. At $305/yr, here is what the Friedrich KCVL28B30A adds up to before purchase price, water, or repairs enter the math.
Left running for a decade at today's US average rate, the Friedrich KCVL28B30A costs about $3050. That is roughly $2700 less than a standard model in its class, which would run closer to $5750 over the same ten years.
How the Friedrich KCVL28B30A compares
The room air conditioner class we track runs from $51 to $389 a year. At $305/yr, it runs about $206 a year above the class median of $99, and it is about $254 a year more than the cheapest room air conditioner to run at $51. Against the US federal standard model for its class at about $575/yr, the Friedrich KCVL28B30A uses 47% less energy.
What drives its running cost
At 28900 BTU/hr, the Friedrich KCVL28B30A is a large room air conditioner for its class, which spans 5000 to 34100 BTU/hr with a median of 10100 BTU/hr, among room air conditioner models, bigger capacity is the most common reason a running-cost figure lands on the high side, all else being equal. Beyond size, its CEER of 13.2, below the class median of 15, is the class's own efficiency yardstick, combined energy efficiency ratio, and it is what separates two similarly sized models with different running costs.
- Combined Energy Efficiency Ratio (CEER). Two units with the same BTU rating can post very different running costs, and CEER is the figure that explains most of that gap.
- BTU cooling capacity. BTU rating scales with room size, and it is usually the first driver of an air conditioner's running cost, ahead of its CEER figure.
- Thermostat and mode usage. How the unit is actually operated, thermostat cycling versus a fixed setting, moves real electricity use more than the rated BTU or CEER figure alone.
Common questions
Is the Friedrich KCVL28B30A cheap to run?
Its $305/yr running cost, rank #401 of 404, is above what most room air conditioner models we track cost to run, so this is not one of the cheaper picks on electricity alone.
How much does the Friedrich KCVL28B30A cost per month?
About $25.4 a month, which is the $305 annual estimate spread across twelve months at the US average rate of $0.1856/kWh. Your own bill scales with your local electricity rate and how heavily you use it.
How is this running-cost figure calculated?
The formula is annual kWh times price per kWh: 1,642 kWh from ENERGY STAR times the US average of $0.1856/kWh comes to about $305 a year. It covers electricity only, not the purchase price, water, or installation.
How efficient is the Friedrich KCVL28B30A for its size?
1st percentile once size is factored in. That means its size-adjusted efficiency is not the main reason for the running-cost figure above; its capacity plays a large role too.
Cheaper to run in the same class
| Rank | Model | Cost/yr |
|---|---|---|
| 400 | K�Hl KCVL28B30B28900 BTU/hr | $292 |
| 399 | K�Hl+ KHVL28B35B28300 BTU/hr | $277 |
| 398 | Whirlpool WHAW-241IN24000 BTU/hr | $263 |
| 397 | Tcl T24WQ2S24000 BTU/hr | $263 |
| 396 | Tcl H24W4KW-CA24000 BTU/hr | $263 |
Source
ES_31705_KCVL28B30A_031320250539657_5618256View certified room air conditioner listingsENERGY STAR data as of July 2026Friedrich and KCVL28B30A are used here for identification only and are not endorsements. Figures are computed by WattWise Labs from public ENERGY STAR data, not measured in our own lab.