Shopping For That New Air-Conditioning System? Look For The Energy Star Label and The SEER Rating

One of the most important features to look for on your next air conditioner may be a small paper label.

In Orlando, a home’s air conditioning system is usually the biggest single consumer of electricity in the home. It is not unusual for an A/C system to use well over $100 worth of electricity in a month.

So, if you are looking to reduce your household bills, the air conditioner is a good place to start. Choose a high-efficiency system, and the energy savings can help pay for the cost of the new A/C. But how can you know whether you are getting a high-efficiency system?

The Energy Star label can help. Energy Star is a program designed to help homeowners make energy-saving choices by clearly labeling which appliances are more efficient than the standard models. By choosing an air conditioner that is certified by Energy Star, you know you’ll be saving energy.

Even among Energy Star A/C units, though, there can be some big differences in efficiency. That is where SEER comes in. SEER stands for Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio. It is the annual ratio of how much cooling power an A/C puts out (measured in BTUs) for each watt-hour of electricity the system consumes. A standard new central air conditioner produces about 13 BTU’s from each watt-hour, for a SEER of 13. An Energy Star A/C will produce, at a minimum, 14 or 14.5 BTU’s from that same watt-hour–a savings of about 15 percent. Some highly efficiency systems, though, can produce 20 or more BTU’s from a single watt-hour of electricity–about 50 percent more than the minimum required for Energy Star certification. So, as you can see, comparing the SEER ratings is an essential step when you are shopping for a new air conditioning system.

When you are ready to upgrade the air conditioning system in your Orlando-area home, contact us at Rinaldi’s Air Conditioning. We’ll help you find the right system for your needs, keeping your family comfortable while saving you money. If you have any questions about SEER, Energy Star, or other ways to save energy, give us a call.

Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about SEER and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

Rinaldi’s services Orlando, Florida and the surrounding areas. Visit our website to see our special offers and get started today!