Yup, much higher than 550w. Mine will often settle down to 650 or 700 after getting the room to temperature, but on particularly hot days and when they are just turned on and trying to get the room to the set temperature, they can easily take 1200w. I have never had an issue with any smart outlet I have bought in the past with that either.
I can understand the company not wanting that liability though. A blanket statement is easier than making customers calculate wattage or manage how many high load devices they might have on a power strip with the AC.
Same here. The place I currently live gets so hot that my utility bills are cheaper in the winter due to the use of so much AC in the summer. In the winter, I can just have windows open, and it’s wonderful