Serway & Jewett — Heat Engines, Entropy, and the Second Law of Thermodynamics: Problem 32

In 1993, the U.S. government instituted a requirement that all room air conditioners sold in the United States must have an energy efficiency ratio (EER) of 10 or higher. The EER is defined as the ratio of the cooling capacity of the air conditioner, measured in British thermal units per hour, or Btu/h, to its electrical power requirement in watts. (a) Convert the EER of 10.0 to dimensionless form, using the conversion 1 Btu = 1 055 J. (b) What is the appropriate name for this dimensionless quantity? (c) In the 1970s, it was common to find room air conditioners with EERs of 5 or lower. State how the operating costs compare for 10 000-Btu/h air conditioners with EERs of 5.00 and 10.0. Assume each air conditioner operates for 1 500 h during the summer in a city where electricity costs 17.0¢ per kWh.