Summer Heat Have You Thinking
About Air Conditioning?

Installing Central Air Conditioning
Are you considering buying new central air conditioning? Or, are you dissatisfied with the operation of your current air conditioner? Are you unsure whether to fix or replace it? Are you concerned about high summer utility bills? 

Buying New Air Conditioners 
Today's best air conditioners use 30% to 50% less energy to produce the same amount of cooling as air conditioners made in the mid 1970s. Even if your air conditioner is only 10 years old, you may save 20% to 40% of your cooling energy costs by replacing it with a newer, more efficient model.  

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How Air Conditioners Work 

Air conditioners employ the same operating principles and basic components as your home refrigerator. An air conditioner cools your home with a cold indoor coil called the evaporator. The condenser, a hot outdoor coil, releases the collected heat outside. The evaporator and condenser coils are serpentine tubing surrounded by aluminum fins. This tubing is usually made of copper. A pump, called the compressor, moves a heat transfer fluid (or refrigerant) between the evaporator and the condenser. The pump forces the refrigerant through the circuit of tubing and fins in the coils. The liquid refrigerant evaporates in the indoor evaporator coil, pulling heat out of indoor air and thereby cooling the home. The hot refrigerant gas is pumped outdoors into the condenser where it reverts back to a liquid giving up its heat to the air flowing over the condenser's metal tubing and fins. 

Sizing Air Conditioners
Air conditioners are rated by the number of British Thermal Units (Btu) of heat they can remove per hour. Another common rating term for air conditioning size is the "ton," which is 12,000 Btu per hour. 
How big should your air conditioner be? The size of an air conditioner depends on: 

• how large your home is and how many windows it has; 
• how much shade is on your home's windows, walls, and roof; 
• how much insulation is in your home's ceiling and walls; 
• how much air leaks into your home from the outside; and 
• how much heat the occupants and appliances in your home generate. 

An air conditioner's efficiency, performance, durability, and initial cost depend on matching its size to the above factors. But don’t worry – a reputable Air Conditioning Contractor will be able to properly size your air conditioning system for you.

Air Conditioner Efficiency 
Each air conditioner has an energy-efficiency rating that lists how many Btu per hour are removed for each watt of power it draws. For room air conditioners, this efficiency rating is the Energy Efficiency Ratio, or EER. For central air conditioners, it is the Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio, or SEER. These ratings are posted on an Energy Guide Label, which must be conspicuously attached to all new air conditioners. Many air conditioner manufacturers are participants in the voluntary EnergyStar® labeling program. EnergyStar-labeled appliances mean that they have high EER and SEER ratings. 

In general, new air conditioners with higher EERs or SEERs sport higher price tags. However, the higher initial cost of an energy-efficient model will be repaid to you several times during its life span. Your utility company may encourage the purchase of a more efficient air conditioner by rebating some or all of the price difference. Buy the most efficient air conditioner you can afford, especially if you use (or think you will use) an air conditioner frequently and/or if your electricity rates are high. 

Using Your Air Conditioner 
An air conditioner will cool the air in your home fairly quickly. For economical operation, turn it on only when your home is occupied. You may consider installing a programmable thermostat. These allow you to set the time when the air conditioner will turn on, such as 30 minutes before you arrive home from work on a hot day. During the day, keep the drapes or blinds closed on windows that face east, south, and west. This will help reduce solar heat gain into your home.