I guess if all of us thought the same way, we’d all be driving the same model car or wearing the same color necktie, so I guess it is not too surprising that in this last summer cooling season before the Dept Of Energy (DOE) mandated changes in the SEER efficiencies for heat pump and air conditioners manufacturers takes place, the outcome is viewed differently by different people.
 In case you've forgotten, the SEER is the Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio, and it’s a way of stating the typical performance of an air conditioner based on how much cooling it will do, divided by the amount of electricity it needs to operate.
As of 1/26/06 (just a few months away), The DOE will no longer approve the manufacture of HP and AC units with SEER’s of 10, 11 and 12 (10 is now the standard). 13 SEER will then become the new standard. Why does it not surprise me then to see the Big Box Stores and some contractors touting a reduction in price of these soon to be obsolete models…that this is the “last chance” etc, etc…and no doubt, the frenzy will worsen, the closer we get to the end of the calendar year.
What does it say for the seller’s integrity if in order to make a quick sale, he would advise a customer to save a few $$$ now, on a unit with the minimum SEER allowed, knowing that the operating cost will be so much more than the few dollars he saves, in the approx 15 years of ownership…especially in a time of such rapidly rising fuel costs as we are currently experiencing? And with these higher minimum standards of efficiency about ready to go in effect, it sounds to me like that the government, as slow as it is, is predicting much higher fuel costs down the pike.
Now for the uninitiated, remember that 13 SEER will be the new minimum rating. For sometime now, much higher ratings with substantially much higher energy savings have been available. We invite you to look at our newsletter “Cooling by the Gallon” published nearly a year ago (7/13/04) which not only lists the most popular SEER ratings of HVAC equipment but translates those rating into energy savings. You can see it by
clicking here .
We find it almost inconceivable that any knowledgeable person would swap the meager savings at the time of purchase of equipment on the verge of obsolency for the long time operating savings that occur year after year….especially in this time of such unstable fuel costs and wild projections of future costs.
We've commented many times about the importance of higher SEER numbers but now with energy prices bumping against all time highs and with no relief in sight, they take on added importance. Just as a car with a higher gas mileage rating will cost less to operate than one with lower numbers, so too, will your home’s air conditioner cost less in energy bills if it has a higher SEER.
Many people that buy an air conditioner or heat pump with a rating of 10.0 would never intentionally buy a new car with a lousy gas-mileage rating (and the serious slump in sales of SUV’s emphasize this point). It’s just common sense to buy a car, even if was a tad more expensive, if it got a lot better gas mileage and thus saved a lot of operating costs? But many people just don’t make the comparison when thinking about a new HVAC system for their home.
Now, when banks are paying almost all time low rates of interest on savings…when people are reluctant to even open their retirement account statements at the end of the month because of the falling value of their investments, and when soaring gas prices have again focused our attention on the high costs of energy, putting your money into a high “energy-efficient” heat pump or air conditioner, is a very smart way to go. |
