Air Conditioner Rebates
Air Conditioning:
In summer, high relative humidity, elevated air temperatures and bright sunshine can sometimes combine to produce an uncomfortable indoor environment. An air-conditioning system can provide comfort for occupants by lowering the air temperature and the humidity level in the home.
Options that are open to the consumer include a room air conditioner, a central air conditioner or a heat pump. The best choice of system will depend on your circumstances; therefore, it is worthwhile taking the time to evaluate your needs.
Does the whole house need to be air-conditioned or would cooling in one or two rooms be sufficient? Room air conditioners offer an effective, low-cost approach to providing comfort in a small space, up to three rooms, with minimum installation effort. Central air conditioners and heat pumps are used to cool the entire space. Central air conditioners are cooling-only products, whereas heat pumps provide winter heating as well. The cost of a heat pump is greater than that of a central air conditioner, which is greater than that of a room air conditioner.
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Room Air Conditioners:
A room air conditioner is essentially a smaller version of a central air conditioner and is intended to cool only a small area, usually one room. Powered by electricity, it removes heat from the living space to maintain comfort conditions during hot, humid weather and conveys it to the outdoors. Unlike a central air conditioner, no ductwork is required, and all components are built into a single package that is mounted in a window opening or through the wall (Figure 1).
Smaller capacity room air conditioners are portable, as they are easily moved from one room or residence to another. Two major categories of room air conditioners are available: units with louvred sides that are intended for installation in window openings, which are the most common type, and units without louvred sides intended for through-the-wall installation.
Energy Efficiency of Room Air Conditioners:
The efficiency of room air conditioners in converting electricity into cooling effect varies widely, depending on the manufacturer’s design choices. Models for window mounting are available with EER ratings between 12.0 and 8.0, and units intended for through-the-wall applications have EERs between 9.5 and 8.0.
An ENERGY STAR® qualified windowmounted room air conditioner with a cooling capacity under 20 000 Btu/h must have an EER rating of at least 10.7.
High-efficiency units generally incorporate efficient rotary compressors, large evaporators and condensers with louvred fins and internally rifled tubes, as well as efficient fans and a slinger ring to deposit water collected from the evaporator onto the hot condenser. Minimum efficiency units tend to use small conventional heat exchangers and standard compressors and fans (Figure 2).
Operating Costs:
The cost of operating a room air conditioner will depend on the cost of electricity in your area, the cooling capacity, the EER of the unit and, most importantly, the amount of time that it operates.
Remember that the way you operate the unit can have a large impact on the actual operating cost: heavily used room air conditioners run for three or four times as many hours as their seldom used counterparts.
Central Air Conditioners:
Central air conditioners are designed to cool the entire house. The large compressor and outdoor coil are located outdoors and are connected by refrigerant lines to an indoor coil mounted in the furnace (Figure 3). The same duct system is used for both heating and cooling air distribution.
Energy Efficiency of Central Air Conditioners:
Select a central air conditioner with as high a SEER as is practical within your budget. The annual cooling efficiency of a central air conditioner is affected by the manufacturer’s choice of features and components. The SEER of central air conditioners ranges from a minimum of 10.0 to a maximum of about 17.0.
An ENERGY STAR® qualified central air conditioner must have a SEER rating of at least 12 or greater for a single-package unit and 13.0 or greater for a split system.
More efficient compressors, larger and more effective heat exchanger surfaces, improved refrigerant flow and other features are largely responsible for recent improvements in the efficiency of central air conditioners.
Advanced reciprocating, scroll and variable-speed or two-speed compressors, when combined with the current best heat exchangers and controls, permit SEERs as high as 17.0 (Figure 8). Central air conditioners with the highest SEERs always use variable-speed or two-speed highefficiency compressors.
Operating Costs:
The operating cost of a central air conditioner is influenced by a number of factors, such as how much you use your air conditioner and how efficient it is, the amount of insulation and glazing in your home, and the frequency and duration of door and window openings when the system is operating.
It also depends on the activities in your home and the use of other equipment and appliances that increase the load on the air conditioner. Finally, it depends on the local climate and electricity costs.
The section of this guide entitled “Air-Conditioning Operating Costs,” on page 32, provides estimates of the cost of operating a central air conditioner in different regions of Canada.
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Savings
As you make improvements to your home; you are cutting energy costs while reducing greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change. This saves you money and makes good sense for all Canadians. Contact us today to learn about air conditioner rebates, and for more information on energy savings available in your area.
Comfort
Advisors will show you where your home is losing energy, how to improve the comfort of your home and cut heating and cooling costs while ensuring adequate ventilation for a healthy indoor environment for your family.
