How are New AC Units Rated?

Before most people buy something new, they will look at the ratings and measurements of the product. For a car, someone might look at MPG, or the resolution if they are buying a new television. But how do you compare new air conditioning systems with so many different manufacturers and models? After the type of system and the correct size is determined for your home or business, you can begin to make “apples to apples” comparisons.

The first step to figuring out how AC units are rated is to determine how many stages or speeds the system has. This is most applicable for the cooling mode if you are in South Texas. A single-stage system is the most basic and affordable. It is either on or off and is controlled by the temperature in the home. A two-stage system has a low and high cooling mode. The benefit of this type of system is humidity control, in other words, this system monitors both temperature and humidity to determine what stage to turn on. There are also five-stage and “true” variable speed systems which improve upon the benefits of the two-stage system. The more stages the better.

SEER Ratings

You should also become familiar with terms like SEER and EER. SEER stands for Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio, and EER stands for Energy Efficiency Ratio. There is an independent company that tests the systems under fixed conditions and applies the appropriate rating. Without getting too deep into the math behind SEER, it is a measurement of how efficiently a system cools throughout the summer. So, the higher the number the more efficient a system is. EER is a more direct measurement of how efficient a system operates when running at 100%, but less consideration should be given to this rating, especially when looking at multi-stage equipment.

The SEER Rating Chart above shows you the Electrical Usage Savings in your home if you were to replace your old AC unit with a new AC unit that has a high SEER Rating. A 10-year-old unit has an average SEER rating of about 10.

SEER and EER are important numbers and also determine utility rebates (utility companies like CPS and GVEC incentivize customers to upgrade their AC systems). The SEER range starts at 14 and can exceed 20 on some higher-end systems. You should use your budget to maximize the efficiency rating and the number of stages, but be sure to have the ductwork checked as well. Installing a 20 SEER variable speed system on a leaky, poorly designed duct system is like putting wooden wheels on a Ferrari.

To learn more about which AC system SEER Rating is best for your home, you can reach out to Air Authority and one of our friendly technicians will guide you through the entire process. Schedule your AC service here or call us at (210)-290-8270.