Air Conditioning

Since 2006, the U.S. Department of Energy increased the Seasonal Energy Efficiency Rating (SEER) of Air Conditioners and Heat Pumps from 10 to 13 SEER. This SEER gauges how a piece of equipment rates in regards to energy efficiency. A standard efficiency for an air conditioner is 13, while advances towards 21 SEER are now available.

Keep in mind, you are increasing your initial investment when going with a higher SEER unit. However, your return on investment increases as you save on your utility bills. Furthermore, the Federal Government is encouraging homeowners to save energy by buying High Efficiency. They are offering big rebates! Rebates, Tax Credits, and Incentives page.

Heating

The U.S. DOE issued an increase for the Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency (AFUE) Rating from 78% AFUE to 80% AFUE for Gas Furnaces and 82% AFUE for Oil Furnaces (to be standardized in the near future). The AFUE rating of a furnace works a little bit differently than the SEER for an Air Conditioner. The percentage, 80% AFUE for example, means that out of all the fuel you're consuming, 80% is actually being used to heat your home. I know, it's hard to grasp that you're actually wasting 20% of your natural gas, oil, or propane. High-Efficiency Models are now rated as high as 95%+.

Like Air Conditioning, the Federal Government is giving homeowners rebates for upgrading their equipment. These tax credits aren't just available for furnaces, but for gas- and oil-fired boilers too. You can find out more about them and more on our Rebates, Tax Credits, and Incentives page.