Department of Energy, heating and cooling units use more energy than any other system in your Anderson , Ohio, home. The U. EPA requires residential air-conditioner systems manufactured after January 1, , to have a minimum SEER rating of 14, while previously all systems manufactured after January 23, , needed to have a minimum SEER rating of 13 with the exception of window units, being exempt from this law.
Older air conditioners have a SEER rating of 10 or under. If your system is ten to 15 years old but continues keeping you cool in the summer, you might still want to consider investing in a newer unit. To illustrate, say your current system has a SEER rating of 9. The same goes for your air conditioner. Trane air conditioners range from The efficiency of your system can vary based on the size of your home, your current ductwork and other variables. The U. Higher SEER units often have 2 components that provide greater indoor comfort.
Air conditioners with lower SEER ratings are usually single-stage and only run on one speed. We just need to convert our formula to theirs, which we will do by dividing the total watts consumed per hour by , which equals 2. This new number 2. Don't worry - at the end I'll give you a simple review calculation that will have you getting annual operating costs very quickly.
Now all that is left is to convert these numbers to an annual cost in terms of something we all know a thing or two about - dollars. To do that let's look again at your power bill and determine the total cost per kWh. Hint - It will be between 12 - 15 cents around most areas of Florida. The average Kwh rate in Florida is just under 14 cents per Kwh. Check the average cost per Kwh in your state here.
This is your cost for each Kwh your air conditioner or any electronic appliance for that matter consumes. Our studies show that FPL customers pay about You'll notice when you divide 36, by 13 SEER you get Don't be confused, just drop everything to the right of the decimal and round to as your Kwh consumption or, the number of watts consumed per hour.
You'll be very, very close. Let's fast forward to the annual operating cost for each of the following using the same 3 ton air conditioning system:. You now want to determine the one and only one SEER rating that is right for you. How long do you plan on owning and operating the system, or how long will you live in the home the system is purchased for? This is the absolute key to your decision because the shorter your ownership period the greater your total cost will be due to a shorter amortization time of the purchase price the fewer years you can spread the purchase price over before you no longer receive any operational benefits.
Unfortunately, from my years in the field, this is almost never brought into the equation. The time value of money is defined as the opportunity value of other investments missed because of your increased investment in a SEER rating higher than Let's assume your system is broken and you need a new one. We know that 14 SEER is the "floor" pricing because, assuming you shopped around, 14 SEER will be the lowest price you are offered as it the federal minimum in terms of efficiency, hence it is the base or floor pricing.
We don't need to calculate the return on the 14 SEER because you have no incremental increase in investment because it is your "floor" pricing - everything else is compared to the 14 SEER to determine if the increased price will pay itself back to you.
Remember, your system is broken and you need it replaced so 14 SEER is the choice everything else is compared to, hence the "incremental" increases are the price differences associated with any given higher SEER system as compared to the 14 SEER system Just the difference, not the total price.
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