Air Conditioning Upgrades in

Air conditioners produce cooling which is measured by what is called a SEER rating. SEER stands for Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio and is a ratio of the amount of cooling produced divided by the amount of electricity used. The higher the SEER, the greater the air conditioner’s efficiency. Older air conditioning systems have a SEER rating of 10 or under while modern air conditioning systems have SEER ratings as high as 23.

In the U.S., all residential AC systems manufactured after 2005 are required to have a SEER rating of at least 13. The SEER rating is usually found on an Energy Guide sticker attached to the outside of the unit.

How much energy and money can you save by upgrading to a more efficient model? Let’s suppose your older air conditioning system had a SEER rating of 9. If you were to upgrade to a minimum SEER of 13, you would reduce your power consumption by about 28%, which could mean hundreds of dollars per year!