What air conditioning costs to run in Arizona
Arizona homes use 5,165 kWh a year on air conditioning. Priced on top of the rest of the bill, that costs $475.94 to $855.12 a year across 28 published Arizona plans — a $379.18 gap. Checked September 2, 2026.
Cheapest 25 of 28 priced plans, average
| Plan | Per year | vs cheapest | Effective |
|---|---|---|---|
| Residential Demand Time-of-Use TRRESDT - Three Phase✓ cheapesttime-of-use · demand charge | $475.94 | — | 11.5¢ |
| Residential Demand Time-of-Use TRRESDT - Single Phasetime-of-use · demand charge | $475.94 | +$0.00 | 11.0¢ |
| Residential Service TOU Combined Advantage 7PM-Noon (ECT-2) [Frozen]time-of-use · demand charge · frozen | $476.67 | +$0.73 | 11.0¢ |
| Residential Service Peak Demand TRRESD (Single Phase)time-of-use · demand charge | $512.22 | +$36.28 | 11.7¢ |
| Residential Service Peak Demand TRRESD (Three Phase)time-of-use · demand charge | $512.22 | +$36.28 | 12.2¢ |
| Time Advantage 7pm to noontime-of-use | $513.41 | +$37.47 | 9.9¢ |
| Residential Service (Pilot Technology Rate) R-Techtime-of-use · demand charge · pilot programme | $518.78 | +$42.84 | 11.3¢ |
| Residential Service Standard (E-12) Low Incometime-of-use · tiered · low-income rate | $543.48 | +$67.54 | 10.1¢ |
| Residential Electric Service R-01 (Single Phase) Low Income Lifeline Programtime-of-use · tiered · low-income rate | $557.47 | +$81.53 | 10.6¢ |
| Residential Electric Service R-01 (Three Phase) Low Income Lifeline Programtime-of-use · tiered · low-income rate | $557.47 | +$81.53 | 11.0¢ |
| Residential Service (Saver Choice Plus)time-of-use · demand charge | $590.85 | +$114.91 | 12.6¢ |
| Time-of-Use 4pm-7pm Weekdays with Demand Charge (R-3)time-of-use · demand charge | $604.99 | +$129.05 | 12.9¢ |
| Special Residential Electric Service Time-of-Use Program TRRSPT - Single Phasetime-of-use · tiered | $671.95 | +$196.01 | 14.2¢ |
| Special Residential Electric Service Time-of-Use Program TRRSPT - Three Phasetime-of-use · tiered | $671.95 | +$196.01 | 14.7¢ |
| Residential Time-of-Use TRREST - Single Phasetime-of-use · tiered | $706.99 | +$231.05 | 14.9¢ |
| Residential Time-of-Use TRREST - Three Phasetime-of-use · tiered | $706.99 | +$231.05 | 15.4¢ |
| Special Residential Electric Service TRRSP - Three Phasetime-of-use · tiered | $717.54 | +$241.60 | 15.4¢ |
| Special Residential Electric Service TRRSP - Single Phasetime-of-use · tiered | $717.54 | +$241.60 | 14.9¢ |
| Residential Electric Service TRRES (Single Phase)time-of-use · tiered | $766.10 | +$290.16 | 15.9¢ |
| Residential Electric Service TRRES (Three Phase)time-of-use · tiered | $766.10 | +$290.16 | 16.3¢ |
| Residential Service TOU Time Advantage 7PM-Noon (ET-2) [Frozen]time-of-use · frozen | $787.48 | +$311.54 | 17.2¢ |
| Large Residential Service (Premier Choice Large) R-Basic L [Frozen]flat rate · frozen | $788.40 | +$312.46 | 17.0¢ |
| Residential Electric Vehicle Time-of-Use (R-EV)time-of-use · needs an electric vehicle | $830.19 | +$354.25 | 17.3¢ |
| Residential Service Standard (E-12) [Frozen]time-of-use · tiered · frozen | $841.14 | +$365.20 | 15.7¢ |
| Time-of-Use 4pm-7pm Weekdays (R-TOU-E)time-of-use | $855.12 | +$379.18 | 17.8¢ |
3 further schedules are published and priced but not listed here — mostly regional and seasonal variants of the plans above. The dearest of them costs $2,208.36 a year at this usage.
Cost across usage levels
The cheapest plan at each consumption level, showing whether the ranking holds as usage changes.
- Lighter use — cheapest $245.30 (Residential Demand Time-of-Use TRRESDT - Three Phase), dearest $440.65, a $195.35 spread
- Average — cheapest $475.94 (Residential Demand Time-of-Use TRRESDT - Three Phase), dearest $855.12, a $379.18 spread
- Heavier use — cheapest $644.68 (Residential Demand Time-of-Use TRRESDT - Three Phase), dearest $1,158.19, a $513.51 spread
What air conditioning costs here
Across 28 plans priced in Arizona, air conditioning adds $475.94 to $855.12 a year — $39.66 to $71.26 a month. The median plan puts air conditioning at $671.95 a year.
Cheapest for air conditioning: Residential Demand Time-of-Use TRRESDT - Three Phase, Tucson Electric Power Co. Dearest: Time-of-Use 4pm-7pm Weekdays (R-TOU-E), Arizona Public Service Co.
Those 5,165 kWh are billed at 9.2¢–16.6¢, against a 14.5¢ whole-bill average on the median plan: they land in the last tier the household reaches, so the average rate understates them by up to 2.1¢ per kWh.
What Arizona homes use
EIA's 2020 residential survey found 5,165 kWh a year across 469 sampled homes that run one, 2.23× the national 2,318 kWh. The middle half spans 2,662 kWh to 6,996 kWh, so air conditioning varies by 4,334 kWh between one household and another.
All electricity used for cooling — central systems, heat pumps in cooling mode, and window or wall units — plus the air handler that runs with them. That average covers homes with air conditioning — 94% of homes here.
That makes air conditioning about 38% of the electricity an Arizona home uses. The remaining 8,438 kWh is what air conditioning is billed on top of, and on a tiered or time-of-use plan that is what sets the rate it meets.
By provider
On each Arizona provider's cheapest plan: Tucson Electric Power Co, $475.94; Arizona Public Service Co, $513.41.
Arizona Public Service Co charges $37.47 a year more than Tucson Electric Power Co on Residential Demand Time-of-Use TRRESDT - Three Phase for the same 5,165 kWh.
Light and heavy use of air conditioning
A household in the lighter quarter runs air conditioning for 2,662 kWh a year and pays $245.30 on the cheapest plan. One in the heavier quarter runs it for 6,996 kWh and pays $644.68 — $399.38 more for air conditioning on the same tariff.
Limits
A 2020 survey average for Arizona, not a measurement of any one home, priced against the 28 Arizona tariffs WattClear has ingested — not every plan sold there.
New to these terms? The methodology page explains tiered bands, time-of-use periods and fixed charges, and sets out exactly what the rate engine assumes.
Estimate — your actual bill may differ.
Tariff structures from NREL/OpenEI Utility Rate Database (CC0 1.0), retrieved September 2, 2026.
Location resolved through the US Census Bureau Geocoder (Public domain) at 32.2226, -110.9747.