At 22 cents/KWH I'd go with the more efficient unit. The higher-priced unit might have a few more bells and whistles like a variable speed compressor and support for variable blower speeds. That makes the house more comfortable.
13 Seer or 16 Seer question
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Out here on the left coast our off peak rates are $.13/kwh with peak - when the AC is needed - at $.33/kwh
If you're only paying 71 bucks per month, go with the lower efficiency unit. Higher seer only saves you in the summer. In the winter, heat is heat. I'd be jumping for joy if my power bill was under 150 per month.
Nick1994
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Yeah your electric bill is dirt cheap already, I'd get the lower SEER one.
In Phoenix the electric bills for May were $150-$200
Come July they'll be $300 minimum.
In Phoenix the electric bills for May were $150-$200
Come July they'll be $300 minimum.
I always opt for the higher efficiency. The marginal cost is minimal. I have 16 seer here in Ohio and my house in Florida has 18 seer. You can control your efficiency but you can't control your KW/hr rate in the future.
I systematically replace all electrical products in my home with more efficient. Lights, appliances, furnace motors...my electric costs are about the same over the past 15 years because of this.
I systematically replace all electrical products in my home with more efficient. Lights, appliances, furnace motors...my electric costs are about the same over the past 15 years because of this.
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Originally Posted By: Nick1994
Yeah your electric bill is dirt cheap already, I'd get the lower SEER one.
In Phoenix the electric bills for May were $150-$200
Come July they'll be $300 minimum.
Depends on the size of the house as well.
also apr/may and sept-nov are usually the cheapest months
My may bill was for about 50-60% the electricity I was using dec-jan
And I have natural gas heating.
A friend with a 5 bedroom home was recently using 3-4x the electricity I do
Yeah your electric bill is dirt cheap already, I'd get the lower SEER one.
In Phoenix the electric bills for May were $150-$200
Come July they'll be $300 minimum.
Depends on the size of the house as well.
also apr/may and sept-nov are usually the cheapest months
My may bill was for about 50-60% the electricity I was using dec-jan
And I have natural gas heating.
A friend with a 5 bedroom home was recently using 3-4x the electricity I do
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We are paying 18.35 cents per kilowatt-hour for a all electric house.2,400 sq. ft. No central AC-on the budget plan at $1,000 per month.Your prayers are welcome!
I live in Texas so invested in top of the line dual compressor 21 SEER AC units along with dual stage burner and variable speed fan furnaces. The install cost was significantly higher for the super high efficiency units but the overall smooth operation has been amazing, super quiet, completely unobtrusive, and way lower bills has been more than worth it. The units also came with 10 year parts and labor warranty.
If I was in Chicago I'd invest in super efficient dual burner, variable speed fan furnace along with a whole house humidifier, and settle for more standard lower cost AC since cooling season is pretty short compared to heating season.
If I was in Chicago I'd invest in super efficient dual burner, variable speed fan furnace along with a whole house humidifier, and settle for more standard lower cost AC since cooling season is pretty short compared to heating season.
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Nick1994
$100 site donor 2024
Originally Posted By: cashmoney
I live in Texas so invested in top of the line dual compressor 21 SEER AC units along with dual stage burner and variable speed fan furnaces. The install cost was significantly higher for the super high efficiency units but the overall smooth operation has been amazing, super quiet, completely unobtrusive, and way lower bills has been more than worth it. The units also came with 10 year parts and labor warranty.
If I was in Chicago I'd invest in super efficient dual burner, variable speed fan furnace along with a whole house humidifier, and settle for more standard lower cost AC since cooling season is pretty short compared to heating season.
Doesn't Texas for some odd reason have their A/C units in the attic?
I live in Texas so invested in top of the line dual compressor 21 SEER AC units along with dual stage burner and variable speed fan furnaces. The install cost was significantly higher for the super high efficiency units but the overall smooth operation has been amazing, super quiet, completely unobtrusive, and way lower bills has been more than worth it. The units also came with 10 year parts and labor warranty.
If I was in Chicago I'd invest in super efficient dual burner, variable speed fan furnace along with a whole house humidifier, and settle for more standard lower cost AC since cooling season is pretty short compared to heating season.
Doesn't Texas for some odd reason have their A/C units in the attic?
Originally Posted By: Nick1994
Yeah your electric bill is dirt cheap already, I'd get the lower SEER one.
In Phoenix the electric bills for May were $150-$200
Come July they'll be $300 minimum.
Because you set thermostat too low for summer ! Is it 70-75F ?
My brother's 3,500 sq-ft house in Phoenix is set at 85F with 8-10 fans running during the day and 4-5 fans running at night, his summer electricity cost is around $100-120/mo.
Our highest electricity cost was last summer at $45-50 for Aug and Sept. I set thermostat at 83F during the day and 80F after 5:00 PM. So the A/C is rarely on.
Yeah your electric bill is dirt cheap already, I'd get the lower SEER one.
In Phoenix the electric bills for May were $150-$200
Come July they'll be $300 minimum.
Because you set thermostat too low for summer ! Is it 70-75F ?
My brother's 3,500 sq-ft house in Phoenix is set at 85F with 8-10 fans running during the day and 4-5 fans running at night, his summer electricity cost is around $100-120/mo.
Our highest electricity cost was last summer at $45-50 for Aug and Sept. I set thermostat at 83F during the day and 80F after 5:00 PM. So the A/C is rarely on.
Another thought. Do you have the right size unit?
When I replaced our old unit that came with the house, I did a lot of calculating, measuring, taking temperatures at different times during the day and checked with neighbors that had similar size houses with the same exposure to the sun. They had 4 and 5 ton units. They were happy with the idea that they came on, quickly knocked the temperature down and shut off. They were sold on the idea of the quick cooling.
I did opt for the highest efficiency unit available but a smaller one at 2.5 tons and worked extra hard at improving the insulation everywhere including a lot of stuff to keep the attic clear and cool and replaced some windows and planted a dozen trees. My unit works just a bit longer to knock the temperature down but if feels like it does a better job of also knocking down the humidity. My unit runs 10-20% longer than either neighbor but draws much less current overall.
The neighbors told me the company that installed their units really pushed for the bigger higher performance units and they both say they now wonder if they ended up with too much capacity.
When I replaced our old unit that came with the house, I did a lot of calculating, measuring, taking temperatures at different times during the day and checked with neighbors that had similar size houses with the same exposure to the sun. They had 4 and 5 ton units. They were happy with the idea that they came on, quickly knocked the temperature down and shut off. They were sold on the idea of the quick cooling.
I did opt for the highest efficiency unit available but a smaller one at 2.5 tons and worked extra hard at improving the insulation everywhere including a lot of stuff to keep the attic clear and cool and replaced some windows and planted a dozen trees. My unit works just a bit longer to knock the temperature down but if feels like it does a better job of also knocking down the humidity. My unit runs 10-20% longer than either neighbor but draws much less current overall.
The neighbors told me the company that installed their units really pushed for the bigger higher performance units and they both say they now wonder if they ended up with too much capacity.
13 should be fine.
the seer system promise great savings based on the numbers but it never seems to work out for me.
someone went to a trane class and most of the tecks had basic units in their homes. stay away from the complex systems 13, 16 17 maybe ok, anything more - no
the seer system promise great savings based on the numbers but it never seems to work out for me.
someone went to a trane class and most of the tecks had basic units in their homes. stay away from the complex systems 13, 16 17 maybe ok, anything more - no
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Spend the $400 on insulation...
Two layers R19 in the attic are what I consider the minimum,
Chicago, three....
Two layers R19 in the attic are what I consider the minimum,
Chicago, three....
Originally Posted By: mattwithcats
Spend the $400 on insulation...
Two layers R19 in the attic are what I consider the minimum,
Chicago, three....
I just did blow-in insulation in the attic. I have about ~16 inches above the rafters.
I'm also getting all my single pane original windows replaced in a month. They're being made as I type this.
Spend the $400 on insulation...
Two layers R19 in the attic are what I consider the minimum,
Chicago, three....
I just did blow-in insulation in the attic. I have about ~16 inches above the rafters.
I'm also getting all my single pane original windows replaced in a month. They're being made as I type this.
Originally Posted By: dja4260
Originally Posted By: mattwithcats
Spend the $400 on insulation...
Two layers R19 in the attic are what I consider the minimum,
Chicago, three....
I just did blow-in insulation in the attic. I have about ~16 inches above the rafters.
I'm also getting all my single pane original windows replaced in a month. They're being made as I type this.
When I went through this, I found that the biggest payback was from the windows/insulation vs. the SEER of the A/C unit.
I went with a 13 and have been fine. The primary reason that I did was that I was told by the tech about all the service issues that they were having with the higher SEER units (15 was the highest when I purchased.)
I would say 13 unless your utility is offering incentives to make the 16 purchase about the same cost.
Originally Posted By: mattwithcats
Spend the $400 on insulation...
Two layers R19 in the attic are what I consider the minimum,
Chicago, three....
I just did blow-in insulation in the attic. I have about ~16 inches above the rafters.
I'm also getting all my single pane original windows replaced in a month. They're being made as I type this.
When I went through this, I found that the biggest payback was from the windows/insulation vs. the SEER of the A/C unit.
I went with a 13 and have been fine. The primary reason that I did was that I was told by the tech about all the service issues that they were having with the higher SEER units (15 was the highest when I purchased.)
I would say 13 unless your utility is offering incentives to make the 16 purchase about the same cost.
Attic insulation won't do much for air conditioning bills. Cold air sinks. We've all seen supermarket freezers that have no lid, yet the frozen foods, strangely, remain frozen.
I live in S. Florida and configured my home to be efficiently cooled. Attic insulation is just R9. But windows and walls are well insulated and my AC is 16 SEER. Works wonderfully and home remains cool all day with the AC off.
I also have a white roof and white walls to prevent solar heating.
I live in S. Florida and configured my home to be efficiently cooled. Attic insulation is just R9. But windows and walls are well insulated and my AC is 16 SEER. Works wonderfully and home remains cool all day with the AC off.
I also have a white roof and white walls to prevent solar heating.
JHZR2
Staff member
Originally Posted By: BubbaFL
I'm a big fan of ultra high efficiency units.
If ductless mini splits would work for your space, 27 SEER dc inverter units from GREE are fantastic.
yeah mini splits are really the way to go. Im running 24.5 SEER units and the quietness, performance and control is wonderful.
I'm a big fan of ultra high efficiency units.
If ductless mini splits would work for your space, 27 SEER dc inverter units from GREE are fantastic.
yeah mini splits are really the way to go. Im running 24.5 SEER units and the quietness, performance and control is wonderful.
Another factor is the whole house fan. The SEER rating for AC includes whether the air handler is single-stage, multi-stage, variable, etc.
On our house, the fan is part of our furnace in the attic. We replaced the furnace 9 years ago with a single-stage unit. The AC was still running so we left it alone. Now, 21 years later, the AC is starting to show signs of needing replacement. We cannot replace the AC with anything over SEER 14 due to the single-stage fan. That is where the additional efficiency comes from allowing the AC to run at a lower speed during off peak cooling.
To move up to SEER 14+ we need to replace the fan/furnace so the whole system can benefit from a multi-stage or variable stage air handler.
In our case, we'll likely wait about 5 more years and replace the entire system.
On our house, the fan is part of our furnace in the attic. We replaced the furnace 9 years ago with a single-stage unit. The AC was still running so we left it alone. Now, 21 years later, the AC is starting to show signs of needing replacement. We cannot replace the AC with anything over SEER 14 due to the single-stage fan. That is where the additional efficiency comes from allowing the AC to run at a lower speed during off peak cooling.
To move up to SEER 14+ we need to replace the fan/furnace so the whole system can benefit from a multi-stage or variable stage air handler.
In our case, we'll likely wait about 5 more years and replace the entire system.
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Originally Posted By: OneEyeJack
Another thought. Do you have the right size unit?
When I replaced our old unit that came with the house, I did a lot of calculating, measuring, taking temperatures at different times during the day and checked with neighbors that had similar size houses with the same exposure to the sun. They had 4 and 5 ton units. They were happy with the idea that they came on, quickly knocked the temperature down and shut off. They were sold on the idea of the quick cooling.
I did opt for the highest efficiency unit available but a smaller one at 2.5 tons and worked extra hard at improving the insulation everywhere including a lot of stuff to keep the attic clear and cool and replaced some windows and planted a dozen trees. My unit works just a bit longer to knock the temperature down but if feels like it does a better job of also knocking down the humidity. My unit runs 10-20% longer than either neighbor but draws much less current overall.
The neighbors told me the company that installed their units really pushed for the bigger higher performance units and they both say they now wonder if they ended up with too much capacity.
In much of the country, Summer brings both heat and high humidity. It is essential to properly size the condensing unit, otherwise you'll experience a cool, muggy house. From my time in the HVAC design and manufacturing industry, I was told you want the unit to run around 75% (or higher) during the hottest conditions.
Another thought. Do you have the right size unit?
When I replaced our old unit that came with the house, I did a lot of calculating, measuring, taking temperatures at different times during the day and checked with neighbors that had similar size houses with the same exposure to the sun. They had 4 and 5 ton units. They were happy with the idea that they came on, quickly knocked the temperature down and shut off. They were sold on the idea of the quick cooling.
I did opt for the highest efficiency unit available but a smaller one at 2.5 tons and worked extra hard at improving the insulation everywhere including a lot of stuff to keep the attic clear and cool and replaced some windows and planted a dozen trees. My unit works just a bit longer to knock the temperature down but if feels like it does a better job of also knocking down the humidity. My unit runs 10-20% longer than either neighbor but draws much less current overall.
The neighbors told me the company that installed their units really pushed for the bigger higher performance units and they both say they now wonder if they ended up with too much capacity.
In much of the country, Summer brings both heat and high humidity. It is essential to properly size the condensing unit, otherwise you'll experience a cool, muggy house. From my time in the HVAC design and manufacturing industry, I was told you want the unit to run around 75% (or higher) during the hottest conditions.
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