Skyrocketing energy costs and general economic uncertainty put many of us in a position where we must pay strict attention to the amount of money we spend on home comfort each month.

Seasonal heating and cooling accounts for about 45 percent of our monthly energy bills. When staying cool in the summer is that expensive, it’s a good idea to carefully consider the benefits of high efficiency air conditioning. Although high efficiency cooling systems are generally more expensive to buy than those with a lower efficiency, they can quickly pay for themselves in the form of lower operating costs.

Air conditioner efficiency is expressed in terms of the seasonal energy efficiency ratio. The SEER indicates the relative amount of energy needed to provide a specified cooling output. When you’re looking at air conditioners, the SEER ratings are extremely important factors to consider and compare.

The older system that you may have today could have a SEER as low as 6. Federal standards in place since 2006 require that new systems have a SEER of at least 13. As a SEER rises, so does the efficiency of the unit. A unit could have a SEER as high as 23. A rating of 18, however, is considered very good.

Upgrade your low-SEER system to a unit with a higher rating, and you will see considerable savings on your monthly cooling bills. For example, if you have a SEER 10 unit, an upgrade to a SEER 18 could cut your energy bills in half.

For 50 years, Conditioned Air has provided top-notch air conditioning sales, maintenance, and repair to residential and commercial customers in Naples and Southwest Florida. Contact us for more information on high efficiency air conditioning and SEER ratings.

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