What Does the SEER Rating Mean?

Mar 23rd 2016

So you’re planning on buying an air conditioner, and you keep seeing a SEER Rating listed on the systems you’re looking at. But, what does the SEER Rating actually mean? The SEER Rating or Season Energy Efficiency Ratio (SEER) is actually a metric that is used by manufacturers to measure the efficiency and consumption of an air conditioner. It is a quite common metric on most central air conditioners, air source heat pumps and ductless mini split systems.

What is a Good SEER Rating?

It is important to note that the higher the SEER rating, the more efficient the system. As of January 2015, the federal government requires that all new mini split air conditioners be a minimum of 15 SEER, but Energy Star Systems typically range between 20-25 SEER. Some manufacturers have gone up to 35 SEER, but at the moment the upfront unit costs typically outweigh the energy savings.

At SoGoodToBuy, we typically recommend that you opt for an Energy Star System of atleast 19 SEER, which helps to reduce your overall energy costs over the lifetime of the unit. Often the difference in initial price can be made up in energy savings within the first couple of years.

SEER Rating vs Costs

Not only can you expect to minimize your overall energy costs, but you will actually significantly decrease your homes overall C02 emissions by opting for a higher SEER system.

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