See how much a higher-efficiency air conditioner or heat pump would cut your cooling bill, and how long the extra cost of the efficient model takes to pay back.
Your result
| kWh / year | Cost / year |
|---|
The math behind SEER2 savings
SEER2 is the number of BTUs of cooling a system delivers for each watt-hour of electricity, averaged over a season. Doubling SEER2 halves the electricity used for the same cooling.
kWh per year = tons × 12,000 × cooling hours ÷ (SEER2 × 1,000)
A 3-ton system running 1,500 full-load hours a year at 10 SEER2 uses 5,400 kWh. At 17 SEER2 it uses 3,176 kWh. At 17 cents per kWh that saves about $378 a year.
Cooling hours by climate
| Climate | Example cities | Full-load cooling hours |
|---|---|---|
| Cool | Seattle, Portland ME | 400–700 |
| Mild | Chicago, Denver, Boston | 800–1,100 |
| Warm | Atlanta, Nashville, Charlotte | 1,300–1,700 |
| Hot | Dallas, Tampa, Las Vegas | 2,000–2,500 |
| Very hot | Phoenix, Miami, Houston | 2,800–3,200 |
Is a high-SEER2 unit worth it?
The current federal minimum for new central air conditioners is 13.4 SEER2 in the North and 14.3 SEER2 in the South and Southwest. Moving from the minimum to about 17 SEER2 usually pays back in hot climates. Going from 17 to 20+ SEER2 often costs $2,000 or more extra and saves much less, because each step up removes a smaller slice of electricity. Read more in SEER2 and HSPF2 explained.