SEER measures an air conditioner’s energy efficiency over a season, while EER measures it at a given moment. SEER ratings range from 6 to 25, with newer units having higher ratings. Some governments require a minimum SEER rating, and upgrading to a more efficient unit can result in significant cost savings.
A common way to measure the energy efficiency of an air conditioning unit is through the Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (SEER). The more energy efficient an air conditioner is, the higher its SEER rating will be. Mathematically defined, this rating is the amount of cooling capacity, measured in British Thermal Units (BTU) during a typical cooling season, divided by its energy consumption, measured in watt hours, during the same cooling season. As energy prices have risen, the importance of energy efficiency in air conditioning, and therefore that of SEER rating, has increased significantly.
An air conditioner’s SEER rating measures efficiency for an entire season, and the Energy Efficiency Ratio (EER) rating measures that for a given moment. For example, an air conditioner’s efficiency for the summer of 1998 would be measured by this rating, but its efficiency at 3:07 pm on August 4 would be reflected in an EER rating. A unit’s SEER rating is usually a number between about six and 25. Newer units usually have a higher rating, reflecting more efficient use of energy.
If an air conditioner runs a total of 800 hours during a cooling season and has an output of 5,000 BTUs per hour, the total energy output for the season will be four million BTUs. If the unit has a SEER rating of 20, the total energy usage will be calculated as 4 million divided by 20, to find the watt-hours used. The result is 200,000 watt hours for the entire season. The number that the rating represents, therefore, is the number of BTUs that are produced for each watt-hour of energy use.
Some governments have instituted laws imposing a specific minimum level of energy efficiency, measured by a SEER ratio. For example, in the United States, all air conditioners sold on or after January 1, 2006 must have a SEER rating of at least 13. Window-mounted air conditioners are not affected by this law, and it is common for these to have a rating of about nine or ten. For a unit to have special Energy Star certification, its rating must be at least 14.
You can see significant savings in cooling costs by switching to a more efficient air conditioner, in many cases. For example, an upgrade from a SEER rating of nine to 12 would result in nearly a third less energy used per season. This can potentially translate into hundreds of dollars in savings per year, so much so that a new unit could even pay for itself in savings.
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