Different Types of Air Conditioners
There are many different efficiency levels and cooling capacities of air conditioners available today, but all the units can be divided into two distinct major categories:Single Stage and Two Stage. But before we get into the differences, you have to know about the SEER rating.
SEER (efficiency)
SEER is an abbreviation for seasonal energy efficiency ratio and it tells you how much electricity an air conditioner will consume over a typical season. The higher the SEER the less electricity a unit consumes in a season. Starting in 2007, the minimum SEER rating became 13, (before this the efficiency levels went all the way down to 6!) The actual savings every SEER number affords you varies, but on the average,you can expect between 5 and 10 percent savings each time your SEER rating goes up one digit.
Single Speed Air Conditioners
Single speed air conditioners produce the same amount of cooling all the time regardless of how hot and muggy it is outside. They have to be large enough to cool you on the hottest day of the year and because of that, they are larger than needed on the cooler days. A good rule of thumb is to choose a unit somewhere in the middle. It is generally overkill to pick a unit sized to handle the hottest day in the summer when the bulk of the time we do not see peak temperatures. This means that on a 90 degree typical Kentucky summer day the unit will pretty much run constantly, but, that is still less expensive than picking a larger enough unit to handle the few days it gets up to 100. Single speed units come in three different SEER ratings; 13, 14 and 15 seer and are 35 to 50 percent more efficient than older units.
Two Speed and Two Stage Air Conditioners
Air conditioners 16 seer and above are two speed and two stage and they are available in models all the way up to 20 seer rating. In a nutshell, these units have the ability to change the amount of cooling capacity they produce depending on how hot it is. This is the exact opposite of a single speed air conditioner, which cannot adjust its cooling capacity. Because two speed can slow down its cooling capacity and run longer, they do a better job of removing moisture. A two speed air conditioner has one compressor, that can slow down depending on how hot it is. A two stage unit actually has two different compressors in one unit and changes which compressor it is running depending on the heat. These unit are the most efficient made and have a SEER rating of 19 or 20.
Tonnage (Capacity)
The ton of an air conditioner is a rating of the units ability to remove heat from you home or business. A ton of cooling is 12,000 BTU’s and air conditioners are made in sizes of 1.5 ton to 5 ton. A BTU or British Thermal Unit is a measure of heat. A BTU is roughly equal to the amount of heat one match puts out. In other words, a 1.5 ton air conditioner will remove the amount of heat the 18,000 matches would emit if they were all burning at the same time. What does this have to do with a ton? The reason it is called a ton, is that is the amount of heat (12,000 BTU’s) it would take to melt one block of ice weighing a ton in one hour. Our job at Koppel is to determine the correct tonnage for your needs. More, in our opinion is not better. In fact, an oversized air conditioner will not remove enough moisture from the air to give you the comfort you expect.
Different Types of Air Conditioners
There are many different efficiency levels and cooling capacities of air conditioners available today, but all the units can be divided into two distinct major categories:Single Stage and Two Stage. But before we get into the differences, you have to know about the SEER rating.
SEER (efficiency)
SEER is an abbreviation for seasonal energy efficiency ratio and it tells you how much electricity an air conditioner will consume over a typical season. The higher the SEER the less electricity a unit consumes in a season. Starting in 2007, the minimum SEER rating became 13, (before this the efficiency levels went all the way down to 6!) The actual savings every SEER number affords you varies, but on the average,you can expect between 5 and 10 percent savings each time your SEER rating goes up one digit.
Single Speed Air Conditioners
Single speed air conditioners produce the same amount of cooling all the time regardless of how hot and muggy it is outside. They have to be large enough to cool you on the hottest day of the year and because of that, they are larger than needed on the cooler days. A good rule of thumb is to choose a unit somewhere in the middle. It is generally overkill to pick a unit sized to handle the hottest day in the summer when the bulk of the time we do not see peak temperatures. This means that on a 90 degree typical Kentucky summer day the unit will pretty much run constantly, but, that is still less expensive than picking a larger enough unit to handle the few days it gets up to 100. Single speed units come in three different SEER ratings; 13, 14 and 15 seer and are 35 to 50 percent more efficient than older units.
Two Speed and Two Stage Air Conditioners
Air conditioners 16 seer and above are two speed and two stage and they are available in models all the way up to 20 seer rating. In a nutshell, these units have the ability to change the amount of cooling capacity they produce depending on how hot it is. This is the exact opposite of a single speed air conditioner, which cannot adjust its cooling capacity. Because two speed can slow down its cooling capacity and run longer, they do a better job of removing moisture. A two speed air conditioner has one compressor, that can slow down depending on how hot it is. A two stage unit actually has two different compressors in one unit and changes which compressor it is running depending on the heat. These unit are the most efficient made and have a SEER rating of 19 or 20.
Tonnage (Capacity)
The ton of an air conditioner is a rating of the units ability to remove heat from you home or business. A ton of cooling is 12,000 BTU’s and air conditioners are made in sizes of 1.5 ton to 5 ton. A BTU or British Thermal Unit is a measure of heat. A BTU is roughly equal to the amount of heat one match puts out. In other words, a 1.5 ton air conditioner will remove the amount of heat the 18,000 matches would emit if they were all burning at the same time. What does this have to do with a ton? The reason it is called a ton, is that is the amount of heat (12,000 BTU’s) it would take to melt one block of ice weighing a ton in one hour. Our job at Koppel is to determine the correct tonnage for your needs. More, in our opinion is not better. In fact, an oversized air conditioner will not remove enough moisture from the air to give you the comfort you expect.