New Delhi, Aug. 26 -- Summer heat in Delhi-NCR can make an air conditioner feel more like necessity and less like a luxury. With ACs running almost round the clock, figuring out how much that comfort adds to your electricity bill becomes more important than ever. However, figuring out just how much electricity does your AC consume isn't exactly AC. To find out, I tracked my 1.5-ton 5-star inverter AC's daily power consumption for 30 days using a smart energy meter.

The numbers at the end of the month revealed exactly how much cooling costs in real-world local conditions. Assuming an average usage of 10 hours per night in peak summer, a modern 5-star inverter AC consumes roughly 1.2 kWh (units) per hour under heavy cooling loads. This mea...