Did your air conditioner struggle to make it through last summer? If you’re looking to replace your A/C unit, now is the time to act; you don’t want to be stuck with a struggling air conditioner during a sweltering heat wave. But before you buy, there’s a lot you have to consider. In addition to properly sizing your air conditioner, you should take efficiency into careful account. A high-efficiency A/C upgrade can increase your home comfort while decreasing energy consumption and operating costs.
When it comes to high-efficiency A/C upgrades, the key metric is the unit’s SEER rating. SEER stands for seasonal energy efficiency ratio, and essentially expresses how well a given air conditioner converts electrical input into cool air output over the cooling season. The higher a given air conditioner’s SEER rating, the more efficient it is. Today, for a new central air conditioner to be considered high efficiency, it must have a minimum SEER rating of 14. This also qualifies it for the Energy Star label.
While it’s true that air conditioners with high SEER ratings tend to cost more, the purchase price tells only part of the story. You also have to take lifetime operating costs into account, and the fact is that an efficient air conditioners will use much less the energy than an inefficient one, thereby saving you untold hundreds of dollars over the years.
Also, consider units that offer dual-stage cooling processes. These enhance your home comfort while helping save energy. Dual-stage cooling means that the air conditioner can run on two different speeds: a slower initial speed and a higher full speed. These A/C units eliminate sudden blasts of cold air, reduce operating noise, and experience a more gradual reduction in your indoor temperature, all while reducing electricity consumption.
If you’d like some help selecting a high-efficiency A/C upgrade, at Ace Hardware Home Services. we’re happy to provide you with all the advice and assistance you may need. We’ve been serving customers throughout the Dayton area since 1978. Please contact us for personalized customer service.
Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about high-efficiency A/C upgrades and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
Ace Hardware Home Services services the Ohio’s Miami Valley. Visit our website to see our special offers and get started today!
