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What’s a Seer Rating? - Buying a New Air Conditioner

When it comes to cooling your home, a SEER rating measures the efficiency of your air conditioner. This rating could mean that you will use less energy and save you money. In this video, we’ll tell you what a SEER rating means and how it can save you money on your utilities.

Revised:

December 21st, 2020

When it comes to cooling your home, a SEER rating measures the efficiency of your air conditioner. This rating could mean that you will use less energy and save you money. In this video, we'll tell you what a SEER rating means and how you can save money on your utilities.

Hi, I'm Luke from Fire & Ice. One of the best ways to cool your home is by having a reliable and efficient air conditioner These factors are determined by the SEER rating. In this video, we'll cover what is a SEER rating? Why is a SEER rating important? What is a good SEER rating? And finally, what can you do next? We hope by the end of this video you'll have a better understanding of how efficient your air conditioner is and how it can save you money on your energy bills.

What’s a SEER rating?

So, let's jump in and see what's a SEER rating. SEER stands for seasonal energy efficiency ratio. This is the ratio of the cooling output of an air conditioner over a typical cooling season. Divided by the energy it uses in watt hours. It may also be called a Seasonal Energy Efficiency Rating. A SEER rating is used by all air conditioner manufacturers to indicate efficiency ratings. Most modern air conditioners have a SEER rating that ranges from 13 to 21. This rating or ratio is defined by the air conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute.

Why is a SEER rating important?

Now let's see why a SEER rating is important. A higher SEER rating means greater energy efficiency the greater the energy efficiency means that you're not having to pay as much for the same level of cooling air conditioners. With higher SEER ratings often have greater humidity and comfort control by using variable speed compressors and blower motors. SEER ratings also matter to many factors and utility companies. Often there are incentives in the form of tax credits and rebates for high efficiency equipment.

What’s a good SEER rating?

So, let's move on and cover what's a good SEER rating. The US Department of Energy enforces a minimum seer requirement of 13 a mid-efficiency air conditioner, usually has a SEER rating of around 16 to 18, and a high-efficiency unit has a SEER rating of 20 or above. It's important to note that a good SEER rating isn't the only factor in determining the right air conditioner for your home.

There are several factors to consider in addition to a SEER rating of your air conditioner. This includes the size of your home, the humidity, climate, and current heating and cooling system that is installed in your home. If you're interested in trying to determine what the SEER rating of your current system is, you can do a little bit of online research about the manufacturer and look for the serial number and model number of your current system. Usually, the SEERs rating is one of the first couple numbers in there, but every manufacturer is a little bit different.

What are the next steps?

Finally, let's talk about what you can do next. So now that you know what a c r rating is. Visit our products page to see a complete list of comfort and efficiency ratings for each air conditioner that we offer. Thank you for watching and we are looking forward to making your day better.

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Fire and Ice has been wonderful to work with! Our new Furnace and AC are working like a dream. We had a number of places come out for estimates and Fire and Ice was the only one who actually went around and measured our windows and home and determined we should get a smaller furnace than what was installed before, saving us money both up front and on efficiency down the road. We were also impressed at the quality of the installation itself, as our old setup was clearly done without much care or thought. Fire and Ice took the time to move pipes and such that were just hanging from my ceiling before, move the humidifier to the proper side of the furnace, move over the ductwork that was not put in a good location, raise our electrical box outside away from the ground, and all kinds of little things to make sure our system runs right for a long time. It's been a few months and our setup runs perfectly. You get what you pay for, and I'm glad we paid for Fire and Ice!

Emily

When the 30 year old HVAC system in our house went out Fire and Ice was recommended to me. Brad, my sales representative, showed me a comprehensive list of my options, set me up with financing make a brand new system affordable, and professionally communicated throughout the entire process. The installers, Demetrius, Willard, and Tyler, were fantastic! They were very helpful and professional throughout the entire installation process and walked us through the ins and outs of the final product. The AC works like a dream just in time for the hot summer weather and we could not be happier! Fire and Ice is our go-to recommendation for anyone seeking HVAC work.

Mary Avalos-Miller

Our complete HVAC system was replaced a month ago. We experienced a flawless, informative process from sales to installation. Bryan, our sales pro, performed a detailed anaysis of our home's size, construction & features to develop an evaluation of our HVAC needs to offer the optimum sized equipment and has returned several times since the installation to insure it's proper functioning and our understanding of the entire system. The installation was performed within 3 days of our agreement - with the crew (Jon, Daniqua & Colby) getting the old system removed (furnace & A/C) and the new system installed in a matter of hours - they even modified ductwork and rerouted some lines originally installed by our builder to increase efficiency and give the system a cleaner appearance. Another great surprise was their tenacity with the cleanup - all their work areas were left totally spotless!!! Overall the best contractor performance we have experienced in 35 years of home ownership including having 2 homes built by the area's most reputable developers. The system runs great, is quiet and can now be operated through my phone from anywhere - even if just to insure it's running while at my winter haven. Thank You Fire & Ice!

Cathy Mace

Fire & Ice was great. Our sales rep, Bryan, was excellent. He was knowledgeable, professional, and didn’t pressure us to make a purchase. Due to our experience with him, we were already planning on using Fire & Ice to replace our old AC, but during the heat wave and storms, my once limping-along-AC decided 20 years was enough cooling and decided it’s job was done. My husband had initially set the meeting with Bryan, but was out of town, leaving me to pick up the sale. Bryan didn’t miss a beat when I emailed him asking to get a new AC installed ASAP. Within two days, my install techs, Demetrius P. and Willard J. were here to install. The excellent service continued. Both were amazing and incredibly professional, even dealing with my very vocal dog with grace every time they entered my house. They completed the job in a timely manner and everything was top notch. They were mindful of the fact that I work from home, and kept noise to an absolute minimum. By the time they left, I could feel the cool air flowing once again. They even took the time to swap out my furnace filter! Loved working with them and will recommend Fire & Ice to my friends & neighbors.

Jared Petersen

The entire process of having a new furnace and air conditioner installed was awesome. Scheduling the estimate was quick and easy and I didn't have to wait on availability. The estimate was very thorough, and Bryan was extremely helpful in explaining everything. Install was just a few days later based on my schedule (they could have installed sooner) and the install technicians (Bryan, Alontae, Von) were awesome. Very professional and courteous, adhering to local health guidelines the entire time. They also had somebody come out and take photos and videos of the install so they could use it in their training. They took the time to ensure everything was installed properly (my old install wasn't). They were also very helpful to show me everything about the system and new thermostat before they left. Bryan followed up with me a week later and stopped in to check on the install. He's awesome and having a tech come out and tweak a couple things (humidifier and thermostat) to ensure everything runs properly!

Jayson Nayuki

One of my good friend’s had a great experience with Fire and Ice, so I went ahead and tried them out. Amazing customers service. Brad was awesome with walking me through the process of getting a new furnace and answered all of my questions. I will be a returning customer and recommend Fire and Ice to all. Update on furnace installed: I can not praise this company enough. The technicians Floyd and Jacob were very professional and the craftsmanship was amazing. You can tell when someone takes pride in their work. Thank you for your hard work. It’s greatly appreciated.

Bryan Wade

Bryan and Nick were true professionals. They gave me a good heads up when they were going to arrive and did a great job installing the new furnace. They made sure to keep my house clean and walked me through what they did and gave me tips on how to get the best use/life out of my furnace. Will definitely recommend to a friend.

I Daniels

The two technicians arrived exactly when they said they would, immediately began to take care of business. They had more trouble than they anticipated getting the old furnace out but still pretty much finished at the time they told me. The system and heating space were left clean and tidy. they took a few extra minutes to troubleshoot my water tank to get it to ignite which was greatly appreciated. Very nice gentleman throughout the experience and gave me a thorough explanation of the paperwork and how to use the thermostat as well. Was a great experience