Is it normal for lights to remain intact even when turning on an air conditioner?

Question

So I use a 5,000 BTU window AC unit to cool a small room. The few times that I turned it on not once did the lights go dim. Usually when turning on a vacuum or an air conditioner I see the lights dim for about 1 second and that's it. However, this air conditioner has no effect on the lights and it is a unit from 2005. The make is GE and it uses R22 refrigerant. I am guessing that a 5,000 btu window AC does not use or pull enough electricity to briefly dim the lights.

Anonymous · Answer

Nothing is broken.  Do not fix it.

Spock (rhp) · Answer

the a/c might well be on a different circuit from the lights

Anonymous · Answer

It all depends on the current draw of the appliance.

Anonymous · Answer

Depends if things are on the same circuit. But 500w (the size of your ac unit) is far less than a typical vacuum cleaner would draw.

Is it normal for lights to remain intact even when turning on an air conditioner?

4 Answers