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Air Conditioners
Cooling efficiency for your air conditioner is measured by its SEER (Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio) rating. SEER tells you how efficiently your unit uses electricity. The higher the SEER rating, the less electrical cost you will incur to cool your home. Units installed after 1992 were required to be at least 10 SEER.
The following are two federal mandates you should know about before installing your new air conditioner:
- Effective January, 2006 the United States Department of Energy mandated that the minimum SEER allowable for air conditioners be bumped up to 13. That minimum had been 10 SEER since 1992.
- Coming in 2010 is another mandate. All manufacturers - at that time - will no longer be permitted to manufacture R-22 based air conditioners or heat pumps. R-22 is the refrigerant (coolant) that most all air conditioners have operated with over the last fifty years. This refrigerant, however, has been deemed environmentally unfriendly. R-410A - which is environmentally friendly - will be the industry's refrigerant of choice. R-22 based units can still be installed in the meantime. If you would like more specific information on the difference between these two refrigerants, please feel free to e-mail your request to us at rick@hetterheating.com.
Trane and Bryant offer both R-22 and R-410A based air conditioners.
Trane's offerings are as follows:
| Standard XR Line |
| XR13 | 13 SEER | Both R-410A & R-22 |
| XR14 | 14 SEER | R-410A |
| High Efficiency XL Line |
| XL15i | 15 SEER | Both R-410A & R-22 |
| XL16i | 16 SEER | R-410A only
Must be installed with a variable speed furnace. |
| XL19i | 19 SEER | R-22 only
Must be installed with a variable speed furnace. |
Bryant's offerings are as follows:
| Standard Legacy Line |
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| Legacy123 | 13 SEER | R-410A and R-22 |
| Legacy124 | 14 SEER | R-410A |
| Preferred Line |
| Preferred163 | 13 SEER | R-410A and R-22 |
| Preferred165 | 15 SEER | R-410A |
| High Efficient Evolution Line |
| Evolution187 | 17 SEER | R-410
Must be installed with a variable speed furnace. |
| Evolution180 | 20 SEER | R-410A
Must be installed with a variable speed furnace. |
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