When replacing Air conditioning units,  saving money on energy bills is a concern. How do we know what unit to buy? Air Conditioners are rated according to their seasonal energy efficiency ratio or SEER.

The SEER rating is a unit of measurement. The SEER rating is calculated by creating a ratio between the cooling output during a typical cooling-season divided by the total electric energy input during the same time period. You don’t have to be a mathematician to get this. All you need to know is that higher the SEER rating the higher the efficiency and the more you can save on your energy bills.

The bare minimum SEER rating for residential Air Conditioning sold in the US is 13 SEER. However, this only came into effect in 2006, so your current Air Conditioning unit may be rated lower. To be energy star rated an Air Conditioning must be rated 14 or above.

Upgrading your unit increases your SEER rating, so you can watch the savings quickly add up. For example, if you upgrade an Air Conditioner that is rated 9 to one rated 13, the power consumption is reduced 30%.  Over time this can lead to $300 in savings per year (depending on your energy costs).

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