Model
Tcl T05WV9RB
Rank #5 means 4 of the 404 room air conditioner models we track cost less to run each year; the 97th efficiency percentile means it uses less energy for its size than 97% of those models.
What does the Tcl T05WV9RB cost to run per year?
Out of the 404 room air conditioner models we track, the Tcl T05WV9RB lands at rank #5 on cost, roughly $51 a year, a standout figure at the cheap end of the class. It uses 25% less energy than the U.S. federal standard model in its class, which would cost about $68/yr to run, a saving of roughly $17 a year. Its 97th size-adjusted efficiency percentile puts it in a small top tier of the class once capacity stops flattering the comparison. Its CEER of 13.7 reflects combined energy efficiency ratio, one of the class's core efficiency levers.
Immediately around it on the leaderboard, the Tcl T05WV9R at $51/yr runs a little cheaper and the Tcl W5WC72 at $51/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 Tcl T05WV9RB's $51/yr adds up to roughly $510 in electricity alone, before purchase price or repairs.
Also sold as: Tcl W5WC72.
By the numbers
The Tcl T05WV9RB 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 $51/yr, here is what the Tcl T05WV9RB adds up to before purchase price, water, or repairs enter the math.
Left running for a decade at today's US average rate, the Tcl T05WV9RB costs about $510. That is roughly $170 less than a standard model in its class, which would run closer to $680 over the same ten years.
How the Tcl T05WV9RB compares
The room air conditioner class we track runs from $51 to $389 a year. At $51/yr, it runs about $48 a year cheaper than the class median of $99, and it is the cheapest room air conditioner to run in the class among the models we track. Against the US federal standard model for its class at about $68/yr, the Tcl T05WV9RB uses 25% less energy.
What drives its running cost
At 5000 BTU/hr, the Tcl T05WV9RB is a small room air conditioner for its class, which spans 5000 to 34100 BTU/hr with a median of 10100 BTU/hr, at the small end of the class, capacity itself is doing a lot of the work to keep that figure down, separate from how efficient the unit actually is. Beyond size, its CEER of 13.7, 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 Tcl T05WV9RB cheap to run?
Yes. Its $51/yr running cost puts it at rank #5 of 404, below what most room air conditioner models we track cost to run.
How much does the Tcl T05WV9RB cost per month?
About $4.23 a month, which is the $51 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: 274 kWh from ENERGY STAR times the US average of $0.1856/kWh comes to about $51 a year. It covers electricity only, not the purchase price, water, or installation.
How efficient is the Tcl T05WV9RB for its size?
97th percentile once size is factored in. That means its size-adjusted efficiency is a real factor in the running-cost figure above; its capacity plays a large role too.
Cheaper to run in the same class
| Rank | Model | Cost/yr |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | Tcl T05WV9R5000 BTU/hr | $51 |
| 2 | Tcl T05WV9MB5000 BTU/hr | $51 |
| 1 | Tcl T05WV9M5000 BTU/hr | $51 |
Source
ES_1126578_T05WV9RB_11122025105736_80268586View certified room air conditioner listingsENERGY STAR data as of July 2026Tcl and T05WV9RB 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.