What Is Your SEER Rating?

What the SEER Rating Means for the Efficiency of Your HVAC Unit

When your HVAC unit is operating at an efficient level, it saves you money on energy costs and creates a more comfortable atmosphere. An efficient unit will also benefit the environment because it will reduce your energy demands and require fewer resources to provide the level of power needed to operate the system.

If you are concerned about the efficiency of your HVAC system, mastering the importance of the SEER rating is a great place to start. SEER stands for Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio, and it determines the ratio of the cooling output of an air conditioner over a typical cooling season divided by the energy it uses in Watt-Hours. The higher the SEER rating, the more efficiently a unit operates. Finding out your SEER rating is important because it provides a way to determine the operating cost for the system. If you are unsure whether or not it would be worth your money to invest in a new unit, this can serve as a helpful tool.

You might not run into your SEER rating every day, but a similar concept you might encounter is your car’s miles to the gallon. This can be a helpful comparison when thinking about SEER ratings. In your car, the higher the miles per gallon, the more efficient your car is. Similarly, the higher the rating of SEER on an air conditioner, the more efficient it is to operate.

How to Calculate the SEER Rating

A SEER ratio is calculated over an entire cooling season with indoor temperatures and a variety of outdoor temperatures, ranging from 60 to 100 degrees and above. It is calculated by dividing the total number of BTUs (British Thermal Units) of heat removed from the air by the total amount of energy required by the air conditioner in watt-hours.

Another similarity between the two metrics is that their results can depend on extenuating circumstances. For example, your car could get 28 miles per gallon on the highway, but if you’re stuck in traffic, it is a lot less efficient. Your air conditioner works in the same way. This means that in terms of the internal functioning of the system, it is operating at peak efficiency. However, just like on the highway, there are external factors that can affect the unit’s efficiency, such as the outdoor climate. A maximum SEER ratio is 21. An interesting part about the SEER rating is they span across every brand. Therefore, a SEER rating of 21 is the highest rating for every brand.

When it is particularly hot or humid outside, the moisture and high temperatures can leak into the home. If the windows are open or the doors are ajar, it can make matters even worse. In the warm summer months, it will help to keep your doors and windows closed to prevent hot, humid air from entering the home. Another helpful tip is to use ceiling fans so that the unit does not have to work as hard.

SEER ratings are an important part of your HVAC systems, but they are just one piece of a larger puzzle. Arco Comfort Air is committed to providing top quality heating and cooling services, and we would be happy to help you make the most of your system through proper education and maintenance.

To learn more about SEER rating and HVAC efficiency, call Arco Comfort Air at (216) 236-5860 or contact us online.