Buying A New Central Air Conditioner

Posted on Friday, August 26th, 2011

Today’s best air conditioners use 30%–50% less energy to produce the same amount of cooling as old air conditioners. Even if your air conditioner is only 10 years old, you may save 20%–40% of your cooling energy costs by replacing it with a newer, more efficient model.

Central air conditioners are rated according to their seasonal energy efficiency ratio (SEER). SEER indicates the amount of energy required to cool your house (higher is better). Many older systems have SEER ratings of 6 or less. The minimum SEER allowed today is 13. 13 is 20% more efficient than an SEER of 11 which was required prior to 2006.

Buying A New A/C

New air conditioners unit can increase efficiency even more with the a fan-only switch, so you can use the unit for nighttime ventilation to substantially reduce air-conditioning costs. To remind you to perform regular air conditioner maintenance, a filter check light indicates when to check the filter after a predetermined number of operating hours. To squeeze every last bit of cold out of the ventilation system, an automatic-delay fan switch will turn off the fan a few minutes after the compressor turns off.

Improper installation can erase the advantages of an energy efficient system. Proper installation is crucial for energy savings. To ensure proper installationmake sure the contractor does the following:

  • Allows adequate indoor space for the installation, maintenance, and repair of the new system, and installs an access door in the furnace or duct to provide a way to clean the evaporator coil
  • Uses a duct-sizing methodology such as the Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA) Manual D
  • Ensures there are enough supply registers to deliver cool air and enough return air registers to carry warm house air back to the air conditioner
  • Installs duct work within the conditioned space, not in the attic, wherever possible
  • Seals all ducts with duct mastic and heavily insulates attic ducts
  • Locates the condensing unit where its noise will not keep you or your neighbors awake at night, if possible
  • Locates the condensing unit where no nearby objects will block the flow of air to it
  • Places the condensing unit in a shady spot, if possible, which can reduce your air conditioning costs by 1%–2%
  • Verifies that the newly installed air conditioner has the exact refrigerant charge and air flow rate specified by the manufacturer
  • Locates the thermostat away from heat sources, such as windows or supply registers.

If purchasing a new air conditioning unit is too expensive, there are more affordable means of boosting your A/C performance. IceCOLD extends the life of your air conditioning unit and boosts efficiency by 10%. As a result, it will extend compressor system life, reduce friction noise and vibration, and wear less.

Properly installing a new 13+ SEER air conditioning unit will keep your house cool, comfortable, and save you tons of money. Most air conditioning purchases pay themselves off within 3-5 years of purchase. IceCOLD will pay itself off within a year of use. Whatever path you choose to take, keep in mind that both purchases decrease energy usage and CO2 in the air. Even though there is an upfront investment, in the long term these purchases save money and protect the environment.

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