Model
Friedrich KCVS12B10A
Rank #292 means 291 of the 404 room air conditioner models we track cost less to run each year; the 28th efficiency percentile means it uses less energy for its size than 28% of those models.
What does the Friedrich KCVS12B10A cost to run per year?
The Friedrich KCVS12B10A costs about $116 a year to run, more than most of the 404 room air conditioner models we track; it ranks #292. It uses 38% less energy than the U.S. federal standard model in its class, which would cost about $187/yr to run, a saving of roughly $71 a year. Efficiency-wise, once size is accounted for, it trails most of the class, ahead of only 28% of the models we track. Its CEER of 15 reflects combined energy efficiency ratio, one of the class's core efficiency levers.
Immediately around it on the leaderboard, the Ge Profile PHNT12CCH1 at $116/yr runs a little cheaper and the Ge Appliances AWGP12W**# at $116/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 KCVS12B10A's $116/yr adds up to roughly $1160 in electricity alone, before purchase price or repairs.
By the numbers
The Friedrich KCVS12B10A 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 $116/yr, here is what the Friedrich KCVS12B10A 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 KCVS12B10A costs about $1160. That is roughly $710 less than a standard model in its class, which would run closer to $1870 over the same ten years.
How the Friedrich KCVS12B10A compares
The room air conditioner class we track runs from $51 to $389 a year. At $116/yr, it runs about $17 a year above the class median of $99, and it is about $65 a year more than the cheapest room air conditioner to run at $51. Against the US federal standard model for its class at about $187/yr, the Friedrich KCVS12B10A uses 38% less energy.
What drives its running cost
At 12500 BTU/hr, the Friedrich KCVS12B10A is a large room air conditioner for its class, which spans 5000 to 34100 BTU/hr with a median of 10100 BTU/hr, size is usually the single biggest lever behind a running-cost figure, and at this end of the range there is more capacity to service, which tends to push the number up. Beyond size, its CEER of 15, above 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 KCVS12B10A cheap to run?
Its $116/yr running cost, rank #292 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 KCVS12B10A cost per month?
About $9.67 a month, which is the $116 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: 625 kWh from ENERGY STAR times the US average of $0.1856/kWh comes to about $116 a year. It covers electricity only, not the purchase price, water, or installation.
How efficient is the Friedrich KCVS12B10A for its size?
28th 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
Source
ES_31705_KCVS12B10A_031320250545845_8606740View certified room air conditioner listingsENERGY STAR data as of July 2026Friedrich and KCVS12B10A 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.