The following post is by MPFJ staff writer, Melissa Batai. Melissa is a freelance writer who covers topics ranging from personal finance to business to organics to food. She blogs at Mom’s Plans where she shares her family’s journey to healthier living and paying down debt.
When we bought our house two years ago, we knew that the air conditioner was as old as the house, 17 years, and would need to be replaced in the near future. Just a few weeks ago, our air conditioner started making a terrible ruckus and then stopped working all together. Did I mention that we live in Arizona, and the temperature was 111 degrees that day?
It took four days and more money than I like to part with to get a new air conditioner. Thanks to our own research and consulting with several air conditioning companies, we took a crash course on choosing the right air conditioner for our house and budget. Here’s what we learned:
There Is a Limit to SEER Savings
How efficient an air conditioner unit is judged to be is measured in SEER, which stands for Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio. Air conditioners on the market today typically range from 14 to 24 SEER. Our 19 year old air conditioner that was original to the house had a 10 SEER, which isn’t even available on the market anymore because every new air conditioner is much more efficient now.
The higher the SEER rating, the higher the price you pay initially for the unit. However, after a certain point, the models are so efficient that you don’t recoup the savings for the initial price of the unit in energy saved. Rarely will buying the highest SEER save you the most money; you have to find the perfect point for your budget and your climate.
In the end, we chose to go with a 16 SEER unit. That seemed to be our perfect point between money paid upfront and recouped costs in energy efficiency over the life of the unit, as it is for many people. “According to Ed Purvis, vice president of the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning company Emerson Climate Technologies, a unit with a SEER rating of 16 or more could save you about $415 a year (compared with an older, low-efficiency model)” (US News).
Your air conditioner sales person should have a chart to show you initial cost of the unit versus savings over the years based on SEER rating, but if you want to do research first yourself, this SEER calculator is fun to play with and very informative.
Choose the Right Tonnage
Air conditioner units are measured in tonnage, i.e., 3-ton, 4-ton, 5-ton, etc. The tonnage does not refer to the unit’s weight but rather it is “a measure of an air conditioner’s ability to cool. One ton is the ability of your air conditioner to cool 12,000 BTUs (British Thermal Unit) in an hour. Likewise, a “2-ton central air conditioner is able to cool 24,000 BTUs per hour” (asm-air). BTU “is the amount of energy required to heat or cool one pound of water by one degree Fahrenheit. So a 1-ton air conditioner can cool 12,000 pounds of water by one degree every hour” (asm-air).
What size unit you need depends on many factors: where you live geographically in the country, the square footage of your home, and the type of air conditioner that you’re installing, just to name a few factors.
Getting the right tonnage is important. If you choose an air conditioner that has too much tonnage for your home, you will likely suffer with an air conditioner that quickly cools your home but then turns off, allowing the temperature inside to rise again. This air conditioner will turn off and on all day long, which will not be good for your electric bill.
If the tonnage is too small, the air conditioner will likely run constantly trying to cool your home, which is also not good for your electric bill.
Our old air conditioner was 5-ton. When we got a quote from one company, they also suggested a new 5-ton air conditioner. However, the company that we ultimately went with measured how much insulation our home has and also plugged into a computer the layout of our home, where the evening sun hits and the square footage to determine that we actually only needed a 3-ton unit, which we went with.
This chart, which gives a rough gauge of the tonnage you will need based on the geographical location of your home and the square footage, also placed our needs as 3-ton.
Consider a Variable Speed Fan
There are two types of air conditioners—standard and variable speed. The standard air conditioner is the one that many of us are familiar with. When it turns on, cool air comes out full blast, and when it turns off, nothing comes out. Throughout the day, the air conditioner cycles on and off as the temperature in your house rises and cools.
An air conditioner with a variable speed fan, by contrast, comes on full force when the temperature rises, but then, when the temperature cools to the desired level, the fan turns down to a lower setting and continues to circulate air through your duct work and your home. This type of air conditioner “saves energy by operating at lower speeds, but energy savings also results from avoiding repeated stops and starts, a process that requires a large amount of electricity” (Angie’s List).
The Bottom Line Isn’t Everything
Buying a brand new air conditioner unit can certainly cause sticker shock. For many, the tendency maybe to go with the least initial damage and purchase the air conditioner that is the cheapest with a single fan and a lower SEER rating. However, remember that central air conditioning units usually last 10 to 20 years, so that gives you plenty of time to recoup your initial cost in lifetime energy savings.
Consider that “air conditioners with a variable speed handler generally cost about 30 percent more than standard units, according to Chris Cunningham, owner of Service Plus Heating Cooling Plumbing in Fishers, Indiana. But he calls the added expense a worthwhile investment because of the energy savings, the lessened wear and tear on the system, and especially the comfort increase. ‘It runs longer with lower output, gets out the humidity and balances the house’s environment,’ he says. ‘That’s worth every bit of the additional third of the cost’” (Angie’s List).
When deciding between air conditioning companies, make sure to check online reviews from a variety of sources. In addition, consider what other perks come with the install. For instance, the company that we went with will send a service technician out for free twice a year to service our unit for the next two years. In the spring, they’ll service the air conditioning unit, and in the fall, they’ll service the heater. In addition, the air conditioner comes with a 10 year warranty on parts and labor, so that will save us in the years to come.
In the end, we decided to go with a 3-ton, 16 SEER air conditioner with a variable speed fan. Our old unit had NOT been energy efficient. Thanks to this new unit, we’re looking to see significant savings on our electric bill. Considering that we live in Arizona and often run an air conditioner eight months of the year, energy efficiency was as important to us as the initial cost. (I’m not going to lie, though, paying for the unit upfront was painful!)
How about you all? Have you recently replaced a central air conditioner unit, or are you planning to in the near future? If so, what other factors are you considering?
Share your experiences by commenting below!
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