If you’re thinking about getting a new air conditioner, now is the time to act. A new air conditioner can be in place very quickly, allowing you to enjoy the benefits of improved efficiency and similar features in the face of our hot Portland, OR summer. But before you can have a new unit installed, you need to make sure that it meets the needs of your home and family, that it will function as it should and that it will last as long as possible (hopefully decades) before you need to install a new one. In order to do that, you need to keep certain things in mind when making your selection. Here are 3 of them for you to think about:
1. Sizing Matters
The power levels of your air conditioner need to match the size and specifics of your home: accounting for things such as insulation and sunlight exposure as well as square footage. An underpowered system won’t cool your home sufficiently, while an overpowered system will short cycle: turning on and off rapidly multiple times throughout the day and wasting huge amounts of energy in the process. The right system for you will follow the Goldilocks Rule: neither too large nor too small but just right.
2. Check the SEER Rating
SEER stands for Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio, and it measures how well the system makes use of the energy it uses. The higher the rating, the more efficient the system. While you need to ensure that its power levels are correct, you should look for a system of the proper size with the highest SEER rating you can afford.
3. Think About Upgrades
Upgrades can include anything from a zone control system providing room by room control to WiFi thermostats letting you control the system from anywhere in the world. Installing a new system is the perfect time to include such bells and whistles.
Talk to the Clean Air Act about a new air conditioner today.