heard a guy on talk radio state that higher efficiency air conditioners are a waste of money.
unfortunately, i didn't get his reasoning, or what seer point is not worth considering. i am considering replacing my 12 seer with a higher efficiency unit. my current unit is about 16 years old, but still works (Trane).
is it advisable to replace my 12 seer with a higher seer?
This is Turtle.
To change a system out because you want better saving on the hvac system and only go from a 12 seer to a 13 or 14 seer is not advisiable. saying this is saying i'm going to trade in my 12 mile per gallion car in a new 13 or 14 miles to the gallion car and cost me a bundle to trade cars to save a little on the cost of fuel. Now if you wear out your 12 seer or the 12 seer breaks down. Go for the higher seers but just don't go because of saving all this money that you will loose buying a new system.
If your having trouble, just need a new system , or it is broken down. GO with the higher seers but just don't go for the saving you will get by paying a lot to get a little in return.
Now this maybe what the fellow was talking about of the higher seer not paying for the high cost of them.
If you live in the northern states a 12 seer is just about the highest seer that you need. If you live in the southern states the 12 seer is just about the lowest seer you should have.
Also there is a problem with the higher seer units in higher humidity areas which the high seer units tend to not get the water vapor out of the air and then you have to run at higher temperatures in your house to feel cool. This is all still being debated and will may one day figure it out. Until then read and use the above info.
TURTLE
It depends on your climate and cost of power. Wgere are you and what do you pay for electricity? If your old unit is working fine, not costing you a lot in repair bills and power bills are not biting your wallet, I wouldn't bother changing it.
What you hear on talk radio is mostly opinion, not fact. (Mostly BS) sometimes it is a commercial disguised as information
I am replacing my 16 year old heat pump this year. It has developed a Freon leak in a place that can't be fixed. My power bills are $150.00 average. I will put in 18.6 SEER Lennox. My power bills should drop to about $110.00. I will do my own install as I am a Lennox dealer, and I will get a price break on the unit since it is for my own home. I live about 6 miles from ocean, so corrosion is a factor. We pay 8 cents per kilowatt hour.
If I knew your situation I could give a better answer.
Stretch
If the unit still works, keep on having it serviced annually and don't bother replacing it until it breaks.
As others said just to replace it for efficiency may not pay back. But you give to little information for help, location, yearly cost to operate, system condition, system efficiency, house insulation, present and anticipated Kwh cost and present sizing are important. To go from a
12- 14 seer savings will be not great , maybe 15%. Going to a 19.5 seer might save 35-40%. The Trane website has a page "Efficiency and Savings" for Ac units that I pulled those numbers from. Research and run your numbers, that is the only way for you to learn and know.
There are a multiplicity of factors affecting whether a lot higher SEER will actually deliver the pro ported savings differential.
If Stretch installs it, --he will probably tell them what all is necessary to get close to achieving the ultra high SEER rated matched systems'. Changing from a 12-SEER to say a 19-SEER may not work properly or achieve any appreciable savings, without making several other requisite changes in the ductwork, etc.
Turtle, what you meant to say was that the higher humidity would make them set the thermostat much lower, to try to feel comfortable; which would result in very high unnecessary energy consumption costs! I agree with your comments and the other posts. - udarrell
Depending on what he compared. If one compare 16SEER vs 19SEER units, real life savings might be about few cents / month.
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