All About SEER Rating

October 18, 2018

The Pacific Northwest has seen record temperatures in recent years during the summer. Many Seattle residents have seen their energy bills go up as they battled through the heat. What can you do to save yourself more money during the next summer season? Your current unit may not be doing a good job of being energy efficient. The SEER rating on your HVAC unit can tell you how well your unit performs in this regard.

What is a SEER Rating?

The Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (SEER) rating lets you know how much energy your unit expends in a given calendar year. It’s meant to ensure people only buy products proven to be safe to use in the home and environmentally friendly. HVAC units with high SEER ratings work more efficiently over time. They’re intended to cool or heat your home using as little energy as possible.

The price of HVAC systems goes up as the SEER rating increases. What you pay up-front for a high-ranking unit could be offset by the amount of money you save on energy bills. You’ll have to weigh whether the cost of a new system would be worth the savings you’d receive over its lifetime.

How SEER Ratings Work

In 2015 the Department of Energy (DoE) raised the SEER standards that became effective in January of that year. Units produced after that date had to meet the new rules. HVAC dealers did receive a grace period from selling any non-compliant systems through June 2017. The current minimum SEER rating for all regions of the country is 14.

Make sure you’re not buying a system more powerful than you need before going out and purchasing a unit with the highest SEER rating you can find. Lots of different factors play into how the type of HVAC system right for your home.

  • The size of your home
  • The climate you’re in
  • How much insulation you have within the walls of your home

Buying something too large for your space decreases its effectiveness. The same goes if you don’t buy something powerful enough to handle large dwellings. You’re still paying a lot in energy bills without getting a good return for your investment.

Make Sure You Have The Right HVAC System In Place

It’s a good idea to have an HVAC professional come out and take a look at what you currently have. Brennan Heating & Air Conditioning offers free energy consultations to Seattle residents concerned about the performance of their HVAC system. Contact us for more information!

Brennan Heating & Cooling icon
Categories: