What Does Your A/C SEER Rating Mean?
Know Exactly How To Get the Most Efficient Air Conditioning in Your Home!
Are you in the market for new air conditioning for your South Shore home? Frank Lamparelli is here to help!
We install and service both central air conditioning as well as ductless mini-splits to accommodate homes that don’t have existing ductwork. Being a locally-based company, we understand the needs and concerns of our customers in ways national fuel corporations and big-box stores simply cannot match.
We provide responsive, courteous service. We get that adding air conditioning to your home—or replacing your current one—is a big decision and a big investment. That’s why we’ll help you through the process and make sure you understand exactly what you’re getting. It all starts with our FREE estimate!
One thing you’ll see when A/C shopping is something called a “SEER” rating on all new units. Here’s what that means, and how it will affect your new air conditioning system.
What Does SEER Measure?
SEER measures the efficiency of your air conditioning as it turns the energy it consumes into the cool air for your home’s spaces. A similar comparison is that of the MPG (miles per gallon) rating for cars. The higher the SEER rating, the better energy efficiency it has.
How Is Seer Calculated?
SEER is a season-long measure of the ratio of total cool air produced by the air conditioner (measured in British Thermal Units, also known as BTUs) in comparison with the energy consumed to produce that cold air (measured in watt-hours) during the cooling season.
How Do You Know What a “Good” Seer Rating Is?
Air conditioners manufactured today are required by law to have a minimum SEER rating of 13.
In some hotter parts of the country, that minimum is 14.
Some older air conditioners have SEER ratings as low as 7 or 8. What does that mean? It means that your old air conditioner will cost you twice as much in energy consumption—and subsequent costs—as a new air conditioner. By the way, some ductless mini-splits have SEER ratings of 20 and above!
What “Payback Period” Means
Buying new air conditioning for your home is a financial investment. With similarly sized and equipped models, you can expect to pay between 8% and 10% more for each one-point increase in the SEER rating.
The “payback period” is the time it takes to recover—through lowered energy bills—the extra cost of buying air conditioning with a higher SEER rating.
Frank Lamparelli performs expert air conditioning installation across the South Shore region of Massachusetts. Contact us today to get started on adding high-efficiency air conditioning to your home!