When you’re choosing a new air conditioner, one of the most important things you’ll have to consider is the SEER rating of your new system. SEER ratings describe the efficiency of air conditioners, and they play a direct role in a unit’s operating costs. So let’s take a look at how you can use SEER ratings to calculate future energy savings and use that information to choose a new unit.
How SEER ratings factor into the costs of an air conditioner
Whether you’re in the market for a new air conditioner or you’re just curious about how much money and energy you could save by upgrading to a higher-efficiency system, keep these important facts about SEER ratings in mind:
- Units with higher SEER ratings cost more upfront. For the most part, you’ll have to pay more upfront for an air conditioner that has a high SEER rating. The higher the SEER rating, the more you can expect to pay. However, as you’ll see below, this only tells part of the story when it comes to saving money and energy.
- Units with higher SEER ratings cost less to operate. The higher an air conditioner’s SEER rating, the less expensive it will be to operate. When you consider that air conditioners have a life expectancy of about 15 years, the amount of money you’ll save on switching to a more efficient unit will add up.
How much can you save by upgrading to an air conditioner with a higher SEER rating?
The amount of energy and money you can save by upgrading to an air conditioner with a higher SEER rating depends on the SEER rating of your current system. When you’re choosing a new air conditioner, you’ll want to factor in the amount of money you can save over the lifetime of the unit before making a decision based on price alone.
There are various SEER rating calculators on the Internet (like this one) that will allow you to see how much money you can save based on the SEER rating of your current unit. For example, if you have an air conditioner with a SEER rating of 10 (the federal minimum until 2006) and you upgrade to a unit with a SEER rating of 13 (the current federal minimum), you can save approximately $1,125 in operating costs over the lifetime of your new system. The savings will go up as the SEER rating of your new unit increases.
If you have any questions about how much energy you can save by upgrading to a cooling system with a higher SEER rating, or if you’d like a cooling system serviced or installed in your home, contact Jerry Kelly Heating & Air Conditioning, your St. Charles air conditioner installation company. We service the St. Louis area, including surrounding towns like Clayton, Cottleville, and Creve Coeur.
photo credit: photosteve101 via photopin cc
