Keep Your Cool: Choices In Air Conditioners

Air Conditioners

Air conditioning is based on a simple scientific premise - hot air follows cold. In an air conditioning unit, warm, humid air is blown across evaporator coils and is drawn to cold metal, thereby creating condensation that lowers a home's humidity and simultaneously cools the air. To select the right size and equipment for your home, you need to factor in your home's age, the amount and quality of your windows, your insulation, number of stories, square footage, and energy rates. It's a complicated process that you may need an HVAC professional to understand. Without a professional, you might end up with a poorly performing or overpriced unit that doesn't run efficiently or is too hard to maintain.

According to federal law, all new air conditioners must have a Seasonal Energy Efficiency Rating (SEER) value of 13 or higher; the higher the number, the more energy efficient your unit is. Each step up in efficiency averages about $200 extra dollars, but a new federal tax credit of up to 30 percent of the total cost, up to $1,500, is available for new air conditioners purchased by December 31, 2010. For the extra savings and energy efficiency, it's worth while to go with ENERGY STAR models.