You’ll Save Money with a High-Efficiency Central AC

One of the most important considerations when purchasing a new whole-house air conditioning system for your home is energy efficiency. Your choice of efficiency level will have long-term consequences for your home comfort and household budget. If you make the right choice, those consequences will be positive.

Fortunately, Americans are protected from falling into the trap of buying a low-efficiency cooling system. For years, the federal government has set minimum standards for the cooling efficiency of new air conditioners and heat pumps.

So even if you go with the lowest available efficiency level, you’ll still be paying less to cool your home (in relative dollars) than you might have 10 or 15 years ago.

Fortunately, a ratings system is available that will help you when choosing the new cooling system for your home. Your trusted heating and cooling provider can help you understand your options. The most common rating system is the Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (SEER).

What Does the SEER Rating Mean?

While the calculation is more complicated than this, here is a basic explanation:

The SEER number is calculated by taking the cooling output of an air conditioner and dividing it by the electrical power that it takes to run steadily for a certain time period. A high SEER number means your cooling system is running more efficiently than one with a lower number.

While an AC with a high SEER rating will cost less to operate, it will cost more at purchase. Which way to go will depend on a number of factors, including climate and expected usage.

• Folks living in very hot areas will benefit from a more expensive high-efficiency cooling system than someone living in an area that has a short cooling season.
• Since warm weather can last for several months in southwest Ohio and feature extreme heat and high humidity, higher-efficiency AC is a good choice in the Cincinnati area, even if it costs more.

Over the past several years, the U.S. Department of Energy has enforced stricter minimum efficiency standards for cooling systems, whether ACs or heat pumps. For split systems common in residential use, the minimum SEER is 13 in the North, which includes Ohio. The minimum is 14 in the Southeast and Southwest.

In order to qualify for the Department of Energy’s coveted Energy Star certification, the minimum goes up to SEER 14.5.

Older vs. Newer Models

Older central ACs typically feature SEER ratings of 8 or 9, so modern ACs, even if they’re on the lower end of allowable cooling efficiency, require much less electricity to produce home cooling than older units.

If you have an older unit, by upgrading to a new cooling system, you’ll enjoy markedly lower cooling costs no matter what efficiency level the new system has.

You Could Save 30% of Your Electrical Consumption

One study showed that upgrading from a SEER 9 to SEER 13 would result in a 30 percent reduction in electrical consumption in a typical home. This would translate into energy savings of as much as $300 annually (depending on the amount of usage and the cost of power).

If you’re still using an old, low-efficiency central air conditioner or heat pump, these numbers suggest that you can save a lot of money on cooling your home by upgrading to today’s minimal available SEER system, though even more savings are possible when selecting an Energy Star-rated model.

Cooling efficiency also can be enhanced, saving even more dollars, by adding energy-saving advanced features, including a

• variable-speed air handler/blower motor and
• multi-stage compressor.

Maintenance Still Matters

No matter what model of cooling system you choose, however, never lose track of the fact that keeping that system maintained will ensure it operates more efficiently and effectively than it would without routine professional and homeowner maintenance.

Every local company specializing in air conditioning repair will advise the same thing.