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SEER (Seasonal Energy Efficiency Rating)

How Energy-Efficient Is Your System?
The air conditioning and heating industry uses a measure known as "SEER" to rate the energy efficiency of air conditioners ("SEER" is an acronym for "Seasonal Energy Efficiency Rating"). In simple terms, the higher the SEER rating, the greater the amount of cooling that the system provides for each unit of electricity used. Because of advances in technology and design, newer systems have a SEER rating as high as 19 or 19.50. In fact, Federal Government regulation now requires that new air conditioning units have a SEER of at least 13. By comparison, units that are 8 or more years old probably had a SEER rating of 8 or less when they were installed. Depending on the level of maintenance given the unit, that rating may now be much lower.

The chart below demonstrates approximate annual cooling costs of different SEER rated units. It's important to point out that this chart does not account for the heating season! As you can see, if you have a five ton system which currently achieves 7 SEER and you replaced it with a 16 SEER system, you would save $1,215 per year!*

1.5 Tons

2.0 Tons

2.5 Tons

3.0 Tons

3.5 Tons

4.0 Tons

5.0 Tons

7.0

$648

$864

$1,080

$1,296

$1,512

$1,728

$2,160

7.5

$605

$806

$1,008

$1,210

$1,411

$1,613

$2,016

8.0

$567

$756

$945

$1,134

$1,323

$1,512

$1,890

8.5

$534

$712

$889

$1,067

$1,245

$1,423

$1,779

9.0

$504

$672

$840

$1,008

$1,176

$1,344

$1,680

9.5

$477

$637

$796

$995

$1,114

$1,273

$1,592

10.0

$454

$605

$756

$907

$1,058

$1,210

$1,512

10.5

$432

$576

$720

$864

$1,008

$1,152

$1,440

11.0

$412

$550

$687

$825

$962

$1,100

$1,375

11.5

$394

$526

$657

$789

$920

$1,052

$1,315

12.0

$378

$504

$630

$756

$882

$1,008

$1,260

12.5

$363

$484

$605

$726

$847

$968

$1,210

13.0

$349

$465

$582

$698

$814

$896

$1,163

13.5

$336

$448

$560

$672

$784

$896

$1,120

14.0

$336

$448

$560

$648

$756

$864

$1,080

14.5

$324

$432

$540

$626

$730

$834

$1,043

15.0

$313

$417

$521

$605

$706

$806

$1,008

15.5

$302

$390

$504

$585

$683

$780

$975

16.0

$284

$378

$473

$567

$662

$756

$945

* Approximate utility operating costs at 9 cents a kilowatt hour and 2,800 cooling hours

If you would like more information about how having a more energy-efficient air conditioner may benefit you personally, it will require a more detailed look at your specific situation. If your electric bill is more than double in the summer than in the winter, you should consider having your present air conditioner unit checked out. (This assumes that the principal difference in electricity usage is due to air conditioning load. If there is some other explanation for the increase in energy costs, e.g., the energy costs of operating a pool, you may need to do a further analysis.)

These examples are by way of illustration only. Actual results will vary and the savings attained may not be as large as in the example. Note that there are a number of factors that may affect the number of BTU's required to heat or cool your home, such as level of insulation in the home, shading, number and type of windows, thermostat settings, number of floors, traffic in and out of the home, and other factors. However, an air conditioner with a higher SEER rating will always require less energy to cool the home than a unit with a lower rating. You may obtain further energy and utility savings by adjusting some of those other factors, e.g., by using a time-controlled thermostat to reduce the cooling requirements when the home is unoccupied, using a heat pump, etc.