What is a SEER Rating for an Air Conditioner?
A SEER rating is a measurement of how energy efficient an air conditioner is. (SEER stands for Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio.) An air conditioner with a high SEER rating is the ideal unit to purchase. The higher the SEER rating, the more efficient the air conditioning unit will be. As a consumer, your goal to purchase an air conditioning unit that gives you the highest SEER rating available without putting you in the poor house. In the early part of 2006, the United States government stepped into the air conditioning industry and made it mandatory that all new air conditioning units must have a minimum SEER rating of 13. Many new models produced today have SEER ratings that exceed the minimum requirement. Some even have ratings as high as 19. Compare this with models from about a decade ago; these older models may have only a SEER rating of 10, at best. Typically, older air conditioning units have SEER ratings that are lower, usually around 7, because owners do not maintain the unit
